Where do you live?

Dare to look inside your head

Read the news article below. I have struck out certain places and references. If you had read the same article without those struck out portions, or with other city etc names in those portions instead of what is there, where would you think the article was written about?

Sitting in India, it is difficult to digest, sometimes, the incredible ignorance certain societies have about their own community, even as they throw barbs at other, less fortunate peoples. Think about the setting of the event – an international event with the top 20 nations’ leaders discussing serious policy. In any democracy there is bound to be dissention, disagreements and protests. That is the way all democracies have always worked and always works. Throttling voices will not help, threatening with rape will not help. Read first and more comments follow.

=

Toronto Police Threaten G20 Journalists With Rape

http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/toronto-police-threaten-g20-journalists-with-rape/

The Toronto Police are already facing heavy criticism for how they handled the G20 riots and for their alleged abuse of citizens. Now several journalists have come forward with horrific allegations of sexual abuse.

Amy Miller of the Dominion and the Alternative Media Centre was arrested as she stopped to see a group of people being searched and detained. At a press conference, Miller claims she was throttled at the neck and stripped of her press pass as she was being arrested. She was then taken to a prison cell, where she spend nearly 13 hours with 25 other women.

During her detention, "I was told I was going to be raped. I was told I was going to be gangbanged. I was told I was never going to want to act as a journalist again by making sure that I would be repeatedly raped while I was in jail."

In addition, she witnessed many young women being completely strip searched by male officers, with one underaged girl confessing that an officer inserted his finger in her. 

She notes it was evident that police were profiling young women, typically under the age of 25, who were more likely not to know their rights.

Maryam Adriangi of the Toronto Community Mobilization Network has also accused the police of threatening her with rape, as well as making racist and sexist comments. The Winnipeg Sun reports, "She claimed she was picked up by police in Parkdale and placed in a prisoners' wagon and driven around for five hours and released without charges."

Miller, Adriangi and other journalists are calling for a thorough investigation. Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Toronto Police says they will use surveillance footage to refute the claims.

=-=-

How did you like it? Interesting, wasn’t it? And you thought such things happen only in faraway places in the eastern hemisphere. Well, yes, a lot of those happen hereabouts as well. But in places like India, they are dealt with seriously (cannot vouch for countries like Pakistan), and though such crimes are not really growing, they are far from abolished. There are people and there are people, and the lawmen have never really acquitted themselves well anywhere. We are all governed by bullies, and let us accept that before we point fingers. We should also gather strength from each other in fighting such bullies, such criminally inclined men in uniform.

Wish you all the best.