Doctors, lawmen, jurists gather for look at pandemic sex crimes
Local legal, law enforcement and medical leaders discussed sexual crimes and their status in Arkansas during a pandemic during an Arkansas Minority Health Commission Conference last week.
The virtual conference, held Wednesday and titled “Dealing with an epidemic during a pandemic. Addressing the violence,” sought to bring different communities together to discuss violent crime in Little Rock and the state.
With 3,068 violent crimes in the city of Little Rock last year including forcible rape, city officials have been discussing the uptick in violence and how to reduce violent incidents. Attorney Willard Proctor Jr. at the conference spoke about consent laws in Arkansas and defined what legal consent is.
As far as consent is concerned, according to Proctor, three factors will be looked at when determining if consent was able to be given. The first, Proctor said, is the age of the participants.
“Some individuals because of their age are incapable of giving consent,” said Proctor, a former circuit court judge. “So you can’t get into, ‘well, they wanted to do it.’ No, there are certain times because of your age you aren’t able to give consent.”
Proctor continued that the second factor is whether the mental capacity of the individual allows them to give consent.
“They could be 30, 40, 50, however old,” Proctor said. “They’ve reached the age of majority, but because of some sort of mental incapacity for a period of time [they can’t give consent].”
According to Proctor, both temporary incapacitation and permanent conditions can remove the ability to give consent.
“They may be intoxicated,” Proctor said. “They may be under the influence of some sort of drug or something that may put them in a position where they are not able to give consent.”
The final factor looked at in determining the ability to give consent is in the power
dynamic of the relationship and whether a position of power prevented consent.
“Maybe you’re a teacher, or maybe you’re a judge or maybe somebody who works in a supervisory capacity,” Proctor said. “And that person feels compelled to give consent because of the fact that ‘if I don’t do this, I’m going to lose my job or I’m not going to get the promotion or not get the grade.’”
According to Proctor, even within a relationship, consent may always be attained, and someone could commit a crime against their partner.
“The issue becomes have I basically implicitly said that it’s OK for this to happen?” Proctor said. “That leads to the question can a husband rape his wife, or a wife rape her husband. And the answer is yes.”
Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey talked about advice they gave football players in Norman, Okla., when he was police chief there.
“The attention comes with that position if you play ball at the University of Oklahoma, one of the best football teams in the nation,” Humphrey said. “I used to speak to them, and we used to get into personal responsibilities.”
Humphrey continued that in certain positions such as having the prestige that comes with playing on a football team, it may be a good decision to avoid some situations altogether.
“I basically laid it out to them,” Humphrey said. “‘Guys, y’all have to remember that no means no and yes means hell no.’ You’ve got to think like that.”
According to Dr. Rhonda Mattox, a local psychiatrist, some people whose loved ones come to them claiming rape or sexual assault against a family member or close friend will attempt to bribe them to keep quiet.
“This week, I had a child tell me that her mother told her that, if she kept it quiet, that she would take the daughter to Universal Studios,” Mattox said.
Mattox continued that, with many people still in their homes because of the covid-19 pandemic, things that are happening in their home may all come out as restrictions are lifted.
“What’s going to happen is when people get out of the house, people are going to start talking, and they’re going to share things that happened to them,” Mattox said.
At the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, many experts and advocates theorized that many abuse victims of any kind would be unable to escape to get help because of everyone being stuck at home.
Those working in advocacy groups such as Women & Children First theorized that with many having nowhere to go because of being stuck at home with abusers, victims may be more isolated and more abused now.
Mattox echoed that sentiment by saying that many opportunities to find children with signs of abuse have been removed because of virtual learning.
She continued by asking what should be done, once victims do come to trustworthy people for help.
“What is it that we do?” Mattox asked. “Do we tell them ‘nobody is going to believe you if it’s Bill Cosby or if it’s Kobe Bryant or if it’s the fella down there playing football for Houston?’”
Mattox said many individuals get caught up in what accusations may do to their reputation and the reputation of their family, but she pleaded that people in those situations think about the mental health of the victim first before their own reputation.
“I want you to understand from this day forward that it’s not about you,” Mattox said. “Please, please, please, in spite of all of your concerns about your reputation, when your daughter, when your family member, when someone you love tells you that they’ve been victimized, do not think about the impact that this is going to have on you, on your family. They need you to think about the impact of what you are saying to them will have on the rest of their lives.”