June 20, 2015

Zimbabwe row over age of consent after Tomana's comments

Source: BBC

Zimbabwe's top prosecutor has been criticised after questioning whether all cases involving sex with girls under 16 should be treated as rape.
Activists should ask what alternatives to early marriage are left for young girls who are out of school, Johannes Tomana told the state-owned Chronicle.

Many online have criticised his comments for endorsing the idea that girls as young as 12 can give consent.
In Zimbabwe, 4% of girls marry by the age of 15 and 30% by 18, the UN says.

Information Minister Jonathan Moyo joined the criticism, calling Mr Tomana's interview "outrageous", and suggesting that his comments compromised his position as prosecutor general, in a post on twitter.

The wishes of girls who want to get married early and who give their consent to under-age sex should be considered carefully, Mr Tomana said.


Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33203462

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In 2015 we still have countries that openly excuse abuse of young girls.

June 19, 2015

"Teachers aren't cops": Unions praise Supreme Court ruling

Source: Washington examiner

Teachers are not law enforcement, so statements from a student to a teacher are admissible in court even if the student doesn't testify.

The Supreme Court unanimously decided as much when it announced its ruling in Ohio v. Clark on Thursday. In March 2010, a preschool teacher asked a three-year-old student about the student's bloodshot and bloodstained eye. The child said her mother's boyfriend had caused them. The teacher reported the injuries, as required under Ohio law, leading to the boyfriend's arrest and conviction for child endangerment, among other crimes.

The Supreme Court of Ohio eventually ruled that the child's statement to her teacher was inadmissible evidence. Because teachers are required to report suspected child abuse, the teacher was acting as an agent of law enforcement, so the child's out-of-court statement was inadmissible, the court said. The federal Supreme Court's decision reversed that ruling.

Read more: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/teachers-arent-cops-unions-praise-supreme-court-ruling/article/2566636?custom_click=rss&utm_campaign=Weekly+Standard+Story+Box&utm_source=weeklystandard.com&utm_medium=referral

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9-0. Pretty obvious that this shouldnt be a problem in the future. It was a ridiculous assumption in the first place, IMO.