Polanski became a fugitive after he fled the country following his conviction on charges of having unlawful sex with a minor after raping a 13 year-old girl in 1977.

Currently Swiss authorities are planning to make a decision about his extradition to Los Angeles in 2010.

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The granting of the request came as a surprise to Swiss legal experts and US authorities. He will be subject to house arrest where he will be confined to his chalet in the exclusive winter resort of Gstaad. According to the AP, Polanski offered up a bank guarantee and the threat of forfeiting his family’s home.

Stay tuned.

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Their rationale? The Government shouldn’t be writing the contracts of private companies–even when those companies are contractors of the US government receiving taxpayer money.

If you are not familiar with the story, a 19 year old Halliburton employee was gang raped, then forced into a locker when she attempted to report the crime. When she finally returned to the US she went public amd tried to sue her employer. Halliburton defended itself by pointing to a clause in its employment contract denying employees recourse in the judicial system.

Thankfully, the amendment passed. In the words of John Stewart “isn’t that a no-brainer?”

Kudos to the brave woman for standing up. That anyone could defend such a state of affairs is appalling, and a statement of how far we have yet to go.

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As a writer about issues of women’s self defense and safety this controversy is of great interest. After all, it is public attitudes that ultimately shape our justice system and the attitudes of women and perpetrators themselves.

As it turns out, the “unlawful sex” refers to an incident where he fed her champagne and a quaalude. forced her to undress, and penetrated her both vaginally and anally. Stronger charges were dropped to save the victim the ordeal of a public trial.

The public reactions reveal a great deal about attitudes about women victims of rape, their rapists and their standing in the world. Hollywood and the governments of France, Poland and Germany have rallied around Polanski. But many women, feminists and even right wingers are appalled.

That Hollywood mavens reflexively jump to Polanski’s defense belittles the suffering of his victim and supports an attitude that artistic achievement and fame  somehow elevate a man beyond the reach of the law. It is gratifying to see that so many people have leapt to the victim’s defense that some Hollywood types are retracting their show of support.

Still the fact that so many leapt to Polanski’s defense shows us how far we have to go in treating rape as the soul destroying crime that it is.

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