26 The Americas The EconomistAugust 1st 2020
21I
n a trialin Canada later this year, one of
the questions is whether Cindy Gladue
liked rough sex. Specifically, if she liked it
rough enough to consent to digital pene-
tration that tore an 11cm wound in her vagi-
nal wall. Ms Gladue bled to death, so she
cannot testify. Bradley Barton, charged
with her manslaughter, says her death was
a tragic accident. Mr Barton’s case, a retrial,
will be heard in November. The verdict in
another case is expected on July 31st. David
Miller is accused of first-degree murder of
his girlfriend, Debra Novacluse, in 2016. He
told police that her death was a result of
rough sex gone too far.
The cases come as a group of academics
have called for a restriction on the use of
the “rough sex” defence in homicide cases.
Elizabeth Sheehy, Isabel Grant and Lise Go-
tell, who specialise in gender studies and
the law surrounding violence against
women, argue that the law shouldn’t recog-
nise the consent of the victim as a defence
for causing bodily harm or death. “Rough
sex rebounds on women,” they say.
It is not just in Canada that the so-called
“50 Shades of Grey” defence appears. Men
in America, Britain, Germany, Italy and
Russia have claimed that their partner’s
death was a tragic, kinky accident. We Can’t
Consent To This, a British campaign group,
has counted 27 cases since 2010. The group
recently celebrated the addition to a pro-
posed domestic-abuse law of a clause bar-
ring the use of consent as a defence for bo-
dily harm (although this principle was
already established in common law).
It is unclear how often the defence is
used in Canada. In March, Kalen Schlatter
used it as part of his (unsuccessful) defence
against the charge of murdering Tess Ri-
chey. Ms Sheehy, Ms Grant and Ms Gotell
say it has become more common since- Angela Marie MacDougall, the direc-
tor of Battered Women’s Support Services
in Vancouver, says that since 2010 her
organisation has heard more complaints
from women that their partners have been
violent during sex.
Canadian law says that a person cannot
consent to bodily harm in the context of a
fist fight. But punch-ups are not usually en-
gaged in for pleasure. “The difficulty is that
our Supreme Court [did not say whether]
this same rule would apply in the context
of sexual contact,” say Ms Grant and her
colleagues. Some think harm during sex
should be illegal regardless of consent.
Was it murder, or “rough sex” that
went tragically wrong?Crime in CanadaRough justice
O
n july 16ththeEcuadoriannavy
announced it had spotted a fleet of
260 fishing vessels, most of them Chi-
nese, anchored in international waters
near the Galapagos islands. Ecuador’s
government reacted as if it were facing
some sort of invasion. It increased pa-
trols to ensure that the ships would not
venture into the Galapagos Exclusive
Economic Zone, where Ecuador claims a
sole right to resources. President Lenín
Moreno formally complained to China.
Overfishing in high seas near the
Galapagos is endangering the unique
species that thrive there. Yet there is little
Ecuador can do to stop foreign fleets
from ransacking its stock of marine
wildlife. No laws regulate fishing in
international waters. The ships use bait
to lure sharks out of Ecuadorian waters
and then catch as many as they can.
It is impossible to track how much the
ships fish. The Chinese under-report the
international catch coming in through
their ports, says Alex Hearn, of MigraMar,
a marine-wildlife research organisation.
But Ecuadorians got a glimpse in 2017,
when one Chinese vessel was intercept-
ed in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The
authorities found 300 tonnes of fish,
most of it scalloped hammerhead shark,
a critically endangered species. Two-
thirds of hammerhead fins found in
Hong Kong markets belong to species
that depend on Galapagos waters.
China claims the vessels belong to
independent companies it does not
control. But there is no way Chinese
shipswouldgoallthewaytofisharound
Ecuadorianwaterswithoutgovernment
subsidiesandtechnicalsupport,saysMaxBelloofMissionBlue, an ngo based
in California. China’s distant-water
fishing fleet is the world’s largest but it is
not the only country to have one. Taiwan,
South Korea and America subsidise
theirs, too. Global Fishing Watch, anoth-
er American ngo, says much of the in-
dustry would collapse without subsidies.
Ecuador had played a big role in push-
ing countries to promise to negotiate a
new untreaty to regulate the fishing of
endangered species. But its government
took a back seat when the negotiations
started, in deference to its own fish-
ermen, who also trawl international
waters. Thanks to the Chinese fleet,
Ecuador is now “eager to reassess its
position”, says Jeff LeBlanc, a govern-
ment adviser. “We now see there are
more pros than cons.” He hopes the new
treaty will be signed next year, in time to
save some threatened species. If not,
fishing fleets will loot the waters near the
Galapagos until there is little left.Fishybusiness
The Galapagos islandsBOGOTÁ
The archipelago faces an invasion of trawlersJust when he thought it was safepartisan Northern Border Caucus of 29
Congress members has called on Canada to
allow Americans to visit holiday homes
they own north of the border. They also
want a “comprehensive framework” to-
wards reopening.
Yet Canadians prefer to keep Americans
out. John Williamson, an mpfrom a border
region of New Brunswick, says he sees little
appetite for relaxing restrictions, even
though his constituents are deprived of the
opportunity of buying cheaper petrol in
America. A poll published on July 10th
found 90% of Canadians want no change.
As long as the pandemic rages, restrictions
will stay, reckons Laurie Trautman, the di-
rector of the Border Policy Research Insti-
tute at Western Washington University.Could the pandemic permanently alter
Canada’s relationship with the United
States? In early July Mr Trudeau turned
down an invitation from Mr Trump to visit
Washington, dc, on the basis that comply-
ing with quarantine rules on his return
north would be too disruptive. Many saw it
as a snub. Yet although the arguments are
over real issues, Mr Trump’s personality
does not help. If Joe Biden wins the election
in November, Canadian officials will relax,
reckons Colin Robertson of the Canadian
Global Affairs Institute, a think-tank. But if
Mr Trump finds a way to win, Canada’s pro-
blems are likely to intensify. And regard-
less of what happens, the Toronto Blue Jays
may find themselves stuck south of the
border for some time to come. 7