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A review by smnthlejeune
Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
5.0
'...the man I accused was presumed innocent, and so by necessity I was doubted.' (p. 286)
Being a law student in Australia, particularly a law student who is a woman, you develop conflicting feelings about the legal system itself. Right and wrong can begin to grey at times. You want so badly to believe in the justice system, that they will get it right. But, women are vulnerable and overpowered in a system which places doubt on their story due to a presumption of innocence, forced to re-live their trauma again and again in trials involving sex crimes.
You learn so much about the final outcome of cases, in an isolated courtroom, without the long process of getting there. The journey of the complainant seeking justice is forgotten. Bri Lee really pushes that home when you see how sex crimes in Australia (particularly QLD) are treated from both sides. How often the complaints of women are tossed aside in front of jury at the final stage AND the devastatingly long and difficult journey in getting there, and how rare it even is.
When I finally reached the end of Bri's journey and closed the book I felt like crying. The weight of the trial finally lifting but also the reality struck me that her journey and the journey of thousands of women in Australia will never end. There is a long process of recovery that doesn't end when the 'guilty' verdict is called, and particularly when 'not guilty' is brought down.
This is such a powerful memoir that really opens eyes to the reality of the legal system in Australia and how we need to do better. There are signs of improvement. The first female Chief Justice of Australia, Keifel CJ, was inducted at the beginning of last year. As I look around my lecture hall, I see an overpowering amount of women ready and capable of speaking up and fighting the good fight for women and children around the country.
At uni, some girlfriends and I actually made an unofficial book club.
Next goal is to get the boys to read it.
p.s. I don't know if it's ironic that the book which took me out of my reading slump, in between my legal studies, was a book about the Australian legal system.
Being a law student in Australia, particularly a law student who is a woman, you develop conflicting feelings about the legal system itself. Right and wrong can begin to grey at times. You want so badly to believe in the justice system, that they will get it right. But, women are vulnerable and overpowered in a system which places doubt on their story due to a presumption of innocence, forced to re-live their trauma again and again in trials involving sex crimes.
You learn so much about the final outcome of cases, in an isolated courtroom, without the long process of getting there. The journey of the complainant seeking justice is forgotten. Bri Lee really pushes that home when you see how sex crimes in Australia (particularly QLD) are treated from both sides. How often the complaints of women are tossed aside in front of jury at the final stage AND the devastatingly long and difficult journey in getting there, and how rare it even is.
When I finally reached the end of Bri's journey and closed the book I felt like crying. The weight of the trial finally lifting but also the reality struck me that her journey and the journey of thousands of women in Australia will never end. There is a long process of recovery that doesn't end when the 'guilty' verdict is called, and particularly when 'not guilty' is brought down.
This is such a powerful memoir that really opens eyes to the reality of the legal system in Australia and how we need to do better. There are signs of improvement. The first female Chief Justice of Australia, Keifel CJ, was inducted at the beginning of last year. As I look around my lecture hall, I see an overpowering amount of women ready and capable of speaking up and fighting the good fight for women and children around the country.
At uni, some girlfriends and I actually made an unofficial book club.
Next goal is to get the boys to read it.
p.s. I don't know if it's ironic that the book which took me out of my reading slump, in between my legal studies, was a book about the Australian legal system.