Statues or abused women which matters most?

trisher

Oopsadaisy1

And the people who toppled a statue were set free.

Thanks to a jury but when this legislation is enacted they will face 10 years if found guilty. If you assault your partner you' can only be given 5.

If I remember correctly ( I might not) The jury had all of the facts but still didn’t find them guilty?
But killing 3 people gets 8 years.
About time we had a thorough review into sentencing with a minimum sentence for killing a person, you kill more than one and the sentence increases pro rata.

Oopsadaisy1

And the people who toppled a statue were set free.

Thanks to a jury but when this legislation is enacted they will face 10 years if found guilty. If you assault your partner you' can only be given 5.

I don’t understand the sentences given. People are more important than things obviously. Domestic abuse is life threatening and as far as I’m concerned they deserve stiff sentences and orders preventing them being anywhere near their victims when they are out.
I also don’t believe in destroying works of art and buildings and public disorder..

And the people who toppled a statue were set free.

A lorry driver killed 3 people whilst driving and looking at porn sites, he got 8 years.

Allsorts

Are you going to morally sanction all art? All professions, that’s the way to no choice and a lot of beauty will be no more. I’m sure we are all capable of separating the art from their personal life. Do you want the past airbrushed out. Let me make up my own mind not told how to think.

It's nothng to do with sanctioning art. It's to do with valuing an inanimate object as more precious than a human being. So you can kick hell out of your partner and only be sentenced to 5 years, do the same to a statue and you'll get 10.

That's wrong on so many levels

We should never give abuse survivors less worth than things. That's horrifying.

Abuse is hidden by too many, even the victims because its not taken seriously and sometimes not provable let alone punishable

Are you going to morally sanction all art? All professions, that’s the way to no choice and a lot of beauty will be no more. I’m sure we are all capable of separating the art from their personal life. Do you want the past airbrushed out. Let me make up my own mind not told how to think.

Sentencing has always put property above injury to people. Time it changed.

The suffragettes damaged property because they said men cared more for property than people. Over 100 years later it seems that is still true for some people. It seems nothing really changes.

Forgive me for veering slightly off topic, but it’s along the same vein. It is hard to even try to understand the mindset we are dealing with in relation to violence and abuse, particularly that of women and children. Here in Ireland we have this week had an outpouring of anger and grief at the brutal murder of a 23 year old woman who was out running in broad daylight. People have been talking of a watershed moment and there have been vigils etc throughout the country. Yesterday, the day she was buried, a mother and father and the mother’s sister and her husband were convicted of the sexual abuse and chronic neglect, and it was really shocking neglect of their five very young children. They got between 15 and 3 years. For the wilful destruction of five young lives. They will probably be out in 10 years, more or less the same time as someone who damages a statue. There is something very wrong, especially as people are damaging these statues as a backlash against injustice and violence.

Comparison with statue business makes it look worse and if it calls attention to the punishment of those committing domestic abuse so much the better, but 5 years for domestic abuse isn’t adequate in many cases anyway.

Absolutely not right. Abused women, and men, deserve much more in their right to justice. A statue is an inanimate object, and feels no pain.

It’s not a surprise, unfortunately.

This is not about whether we like statues or not it is about the ridiculous decision on sentencing.
Absolutely dreadful - 10 years for damaging a statue and 5 years for domestic abuse - just awful.
Thank you for the link Trisher.

It's shocking! Thanks for sharing this link trisher

I remember having this debate about the Eric Gill statues when I worked near the BBC over 50 years ago!
I think that some artists in the National Gallery that the same applies.
I am not someone who gets excited by 'works of art' and I have worked with abused adults & children, so I stand with taking it down, and a lot of others.
Some do think that a notice explaining, and maybe honouring the abuse survivors would be useful, but I think that is up to the survivors, and they may disagree among themselves. I don't know if Gill's descendants / survivors have made their opinions known, but I do think their privacy should also be respected.

Ooops, shot themselves in the foot again!