Thanks to the Shameless reader who sent us a tip on this awful story.
From the Toronto Star:
19-year-old, who faces no charges, distressed at being behind bars after attempts to subpoena her as witness in domestic assault case failed…Due to deliver next Tuesday, [Noellee Mowatt] has been detained at Vanier Centre for Women since Thursday, when a justice of the peace denied her bail. Mowatt, who faces no criminal charges in this case, won’t be let out until she testifies at her boyfriend’s domestic assault trial on Friday.
…Toronto police said they tried several times to serve the expectant mother with a subpoena to show up in court. When she wasn’t present March 20, a judge issued a material warrant for her arrest…Mowatt, who lived in shelters and a rooming house before her arrest April 1, said that while she had several conversations with detectives, no one ever asked her to pick up a subpoena or tried to drop one off.
More frightening than Mowatt’s case in and of itself is the precedent it sets, and the message it sends to women stuck in abusive situations:
Several groups said yesterday they can’t remember the last time a victim of domestic violence was held in jail on a material warrant…Amanda Dale of the YWCA is baffled that such means, which are usually employed to compel other criminals to testify, would be used on someone so vulnerable.
“It’s counterproductive to the broader goal of getting women to leave violent situations,” [Dale] said…”It will have a chilling effect on anyone coming forward and reporting to the police.”
It’s shocking how the justice system doesn’t attempt to adapt to the life situations of those it is supposed to be protecting.
I have to wonder if Mowatt would’ve been treated the same way if she was not a teenager, not a recent immigrant, and not lower income. We know that people who experience marginalisation are poorly treated by our systems, but it’s still appalling to see how the system pushes people around without regard to any of the circumstances of their lives.
The fact that the state is trying to remedy violence against women through being violent towards a woman - because locking anyone up against their will, but especially a very pregnant woman, is a form of violence - is pretty frightening.
This case brings to mind another case of an incarcerated pregnant woman that has a very sad ending: Kimberly Rogers.
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seven comments
This is crazy! I wish I knew what I could do to help
Posted by Amble
April 8, 2008, 9:33 PM
This is disgusting. The name of the judge should be published as well. The judge must be held accountable for this.
The victim's quote in the news article is so disturbing:
"This is what I get. ... I'm never calling the police again – even if I'm dying, I'm not going to call them."
We make small steps forward and actions like this by our justice system force us back in leaps.
Posted by Nikita
April 10, 2008, 9:39 AM
Totally wrong!
That quote is disturbing Nikita. The fact that she never wants to call the police again is so sad and shocking!
Posted by Cecelia
April 10, 2008, 11:23 AM
I had a baby girl with an abusive boyfriend and finally called the police on him. If I had gotten arrested for something like this I would have tripped out. Let the girl go already. Look what you people are doing to future abusive situations. You think anyone is going to want to call now??Definetly not!! get your act together and finally do right by the people...STOP putting innocent victims in jail for absolutly nothing. Do your jobs right!!
Posted by Rebecca
April 10, 2008, 3:15 PM
If you'd like to support Mowatt, consider attending her hearing tomorrow morning in Toronto:
http://www.shamelessmag.com/blog/2008...
Posted by Thea
April 10, 2008, 3:56 PM
The problem I have is that this girl has major issues. First she reports that she's been abused, and now she's saying that nothing happened. I realize that this is "normal behaviour" when it comes to victims, but still...
I think rather than jail, she should have been put in a supervised home, away from real criminals.
Posted by chinesecanuck
April 14, 2008, 9:53 AM
I feel irritated as well that after all this, there's the looming detail that she made false allegations against her abusive bf. That's something to throw into the fires of the stereotype that girls use the law to get back at their partners. But if there's anything that can be taken out of this is the fact that the court system was still insanely insensitive to the fact that she was the victim. But I've been there myself, and it's true that the system is totally uncaring...
Posted by Emm
April 14, 2008, 9:19 PM
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