The lead story in both Melbourne papers today was the conviction of Geoff Clark, former head of the ATSIC, of leading two pack rapes against Carol Stingel over thirty years ago.

But is conviction the right word? Rather than a criminal trial, Clark faced a jury in an action in torts, where the standard of proof is less and the role of justice is to compensate, rather than penalise.

The effect of this for women is being overshadowed by the role of the media, particularly The Age, in bringing Clark to justice as the newspaper unusually published stories about women who claimed they had been raped by the aboriginal leader. Certainly it is not unheard of for public, particularly political figures to have parts of their private life investigated. However mainstream media has traditionally been hesitant to accuse anyone of criminal charges before formal investigation by the police.

The four women who had accused Clark were never able to charge him criminally. After The Age report, the allegations were formally investigated, but never amounted to trials due to lack of evidence. Not surprising considering the length of time the women had claimed they were assaulted and the statute of limitations.

Clark today claimed that he was personally being prosecuted by the media. While not excusing Clark’s actions, there’s something to be said about only Clark being held accountable; Stingel claimed Clark had been the leader of the two pack rapes. Where were the other men? Furthermore, Stingel had been raped afterwards by other men, one resulting in a pregnancy. Were these allegations investigated, or only the ones committed by Clark? No one is discussing how yesterday’s ruling is linked to the bigger issues of sexual violence in the Aboriginal community.

And while The Age basked in the delight of yesterdays ruling, other, more important issues than the role of the media have being overlooked. Most importantly for women seems to be the use of civil court in making men accountable for rape. Certainly Stingel’s claims would have been difficult to prove considering they took place in the 1970s. In this way, civil proceedings seem, at least, some way of gaining retribution.

To me, it seems like another way that violence against women is pushed out of criminal courts. Like years of domestic violence prosecution, violence against women appears like a “soft crime”, certainly nothing worthy of punishment. Stingel was awarded $20 000, which represent the post-traumatic trauma she suffered from the rape, rather than the price of the actual violence she endured. Odd? More painful is the fact that the jury decided against awarding punitive damages, damages that are awarded in civil cases rarely but for detestable and intended actions which warrant punishment.

Doesn’t sound like justice to me.

It’s been a long time coming but Issue #5 has finally arrived! Complete with Wonder Woman on the cover, number five is packed full of great interviews, articles and rants on Rosa Luxemberg, The Time of the Assassins, Ladyfest Brisbane (including chats with Erase Errata, Macromantics & Partyline), Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ Campaign, identity politics, and many more gems including a retrospective on The Slits and our regular column ‘Songs of empowerment’. PU#5 is only $3.00 AUD and is available now in our shop. It’s great to be back!

The deadline for the next issue is September 1st, 2006. That may seem like a while away, but if you’re interested in being featured in issue #5, please express your interest now so we can make sure your piece is included. Issue #5 will debut at the National Young Writers Festival in Newcastle this October (2006). Submit or express your interest via the contact page – thanks!!

Queer? Do you write, or are you interested in writing? Would you like to talk with other people who write? Would you like to get together with others who understand what it’s like to struggle with writer’s block, and who want to know how to get published (like you)? Would you like help with critiquing your work and exploring your writing?

Queer Ink is a new writing group for queers who like to write, whether you call yourself a writer or not. We welcome anyone who identifies as queer and writes. We welcome folks of any gender or sexuality. Interested? Come join us on the web at http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/queer_ink/

We had a great day at the Yeah Write Zine Fair in Hawthorn yesterday. It was awesome to see all the familiar faces and some old faces as well (including Kristy of Smitten Kitten, we can report she is alive and well!). Melbourne zinester and good friend of Pretty Ugly, Jo Mundy, informed us of a new blog she’s started called Melbourne DIY Review. We think it’s a pretty awesome idea and encourage you to check it out and submit your creative works for review! The last copy Pretty Ugly #3 was snapped up so it’s now officially SOLD OUT! But you can still get copies of Pretty Ugly #4 so if you don’t want to miss out, get in touch with us ASAP! – Kelly

Yes Pretty Ugly is back after a year long hiatus and we’re ready to put together issue #5 of the Pretty Ugly Zine. The deadline is September 1, 2006. Please contact us ASAP if you’d like to contribute something to this issue.

As you can probably tell we’re currently in the process of setting up our new website, so please bare with us. Samples of issues #1 and #2 are available with samples from #3 and #4 to come. We are completely SOLD OUT of issues #1 and #2 and there is only one copy of #3 left!! If you want to be the lucky sod who gets the last copy, check out the shop page for info on how to get it.

Pretty Ugly was at the Emerging Writers Festival in Melbourne this past weekend with a stall at the Independent Press Fair. It was a great day and we’re looking forward to doing it all again at the ‘Yeah Write’ zine fair at Hawthorn Town Hall on April 22nd. We hope to see you there!

Thanks everyone for supporting Pretty Ugly. We know it’s been a while since the last issue and we promise #5 will be a killer!