Thumbs up/thumbs down

 Thumbs up to metro area prosecutors for their leadership in redefining children and teenagers used in prostitution as victims, not delinquents. In a February news conference, they announced changes to prosecution policies that will focus on protecting child victims of prostitution from further abuse and prosecute the pimps and johns who abuse them. A bill before the Minnesota legislature would change the legal definition of who could be charged with prostitution to individuals 18 and over.

 Thumbs up to Senator Amy Klobuchar for introducing legislation designed to preserve evidence, document trauma, and support research into sexual assaults involving members of the U.S. military. In a study conducted by the military in 2008, 21 percent of women questioned reported experiencing sexual harassment or assault while in the military. The bill, which has strong bi-partisan support, would extend services to victims who do not immediately report the assault, but who later seek treatment.

 Thumbs up to the Minnesota Supreme Court for affirming the state’s right to call expert witnesses to testify about common behavior exhibited by sexual assault victims. The Court’s decision notes that experts may be necessary because an average juror in a sexual assault case may not have sufficient understanding of the dynamics of sexual assault. The ruling brings Minnesota belatedly in line with the rest of the country — Pennsylvania is now the only state that does not allow such expert testimony.

 Thumbs down to Lancaster County (Nebraska) District Judge Paul Merritt for threatening a 24-year old woman with contempt of court and a jail sentence for refusing to be a witness for the state in a sexual assault trial. The victim’s mother reported the assaults (which took place more than 16 years ago when the victim was a child) to police. The young woman initially spoke to investigators, describing details of the assaults, and cooperated in taping a phone conversation in which the defendant admitted the sexual touching. She was, however, concerned about the effects of testifying on the health and well-being of herself and her children and indicated her unwillingness to testify in the case. By punishing her for her decision to spare herself and her son the public humiliation of a trial, the judge shows an astonishing lack of empathy for her. With victims of sexual assault already reluctant to report (60% of sexual assault crimes go unreported according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics), this action will have a very chilling effect on victims coming forward. WATCH is saddened that the judge was unable to come up with a more reasonable, humane way to handle this situation.

 Thumbs up to the U.S. Department of Education for issuing the first-ever guidelines to specifically assist high schools, colleges, and universities to better prevent and respond to sexual harassment and assault on their campuses. The guidelines summarize schools’ obligations under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, which bars institutions of education that receive federal funding from gender-based discrimination. In the past, when complaints were brought to the Department’s Office of Civil Rights, its rulings applied only to the institution investigated. The new guidelines, however, have made clear that these rulings apply to all educational institutions, bringing consistency and uniformity to enforcement of the Title IX provisions prohibiting sexual assault and harassment for the first time.

 Thumbs down to Chris Brown and Charlie Sheen for assuming their celebrity status entitles them to use and abuse women without question or consequence. Sheen’s history includes charges he shot his then-fiancée in 1990, a 1994 civil suit involving Sheen striking a woman who refused to have sex with him, and an undercover “sting” of the so-called “Hollywood Madam” in 1995, to whom Sheen had paid more than $50,000 for prostituted women. In a recent 20/20 interview, Sheen again touted the “benefits” of prostitutes. Brown’s most recent outburst -- breaking a dressing room window on set -- occurred after the host of Good Morning America asked him a series of questions about his brutal assault of his ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

This article appears in the Spring 2011 WATCH newsletter. You can download the entire issue (as a .pdf) here.