- guardian.co.uk, Friday December 15 2000 02.12 GMT
In a bid to rid the bench of outdated prejudices the latest chapters of the Equal Treatment Bench Book, launched yesterday by the Judicial Studies Board includes guidelines and advice designed to pre vent those embarrassing or offensive interventions.
The book will introduce judges for the first time to the minefields of gender and sexual orientation.
They are already well up to speed on race, which was covered by the first part of the bench book published last year. That section informed them that smoking cannabis was an important part of religious experience for Rastafarians, who treated it as a sacrament.
The chapter on gender acknowledges that most judges and lawmakers are men and "some argue that existing law continues to reflect belief about men's and women's roles that are no longer the norm".
For example, "one needs to be careful not to regard a woman who works full-time as a selfish mother or neglectful of her children. She may also carry the main responsibility for their care. Conversely, a man who stays at home to look after children is not lazy or incompetent."
The judge who branded a rape victim guilty of contributory negligence and the one who told the jury that "women who say no don't always mean no" have long since retired. But judges, it seems, still need reminding of a 1973 case in which it was held that "whereas every consent involves submission, mere submission is not of itself consent".
Although defendants in rape cases can no longer cross-examine the woman personally, the guide notes state: "The demeaning experience of cold, skilful and remorseless questioning by a detached advocate can be even worse."
Judges are told that rape trauma syndrome may make a victim appear calm and composed, masking her true feelings. So her demeanour when giving evidence is not a guide to her truthfulness. And "contrary to common belief, the victim of rape whose attacker was known to her will frequently suffer trauma for longer than if the attacker was a stranger".
Few judges are gay, so perhaps judges need to be informed that "nearly all homosexuals were brought up in heterosexual homes", and "there is no evidence that gay men are more likely to abuse children than heterosexual men".
Bench marks
• No reputable medical opinion now suggests that homosexuality is a catchable or pathological condition.
• A woman who works full-time is not to be regarded as a selfish or neglectful mother.
• Avoid words that imply an evaluation of the sexes, however subtle. For example, use "husband and wife", instead of "man and wife".
• Do not assume that the male in a family is the main breadwinner.
• Being lesbian or gay has nothing whatsoever to do with paedophile desire.
