When John Worboys was arrested for raping a passenger in his black cab his name was printed in the papers and dozens of other victims came forward. Without them a conviction might never have been secured, and women who had been drugged by Worboys and awoken confused and worried might never have found out the truth about what had happened to them. The full Lib-Con (Con-Dem, etc) coalition document has in it a promise to provide anonymity for defendants in rape cases.
The evidence suggests that false rape claims represent around 2-8% of cases (much lower than the false claim level for crimes relating to car insurance claims). And the notion that guys who are not convicted of rape are stigmatised is simply not true (consider the dozens of acquitted footballers still pursuing grossly overpaid professional careers) and when they are it's usually because the evidence against them was so overwhelming (like the "I might have raped her in my sleep" guy).
The law giving rape victims anonymity is there to encourage women to come forward despite the stigma felt by rape victims in many cases. This change will cut the rape conviction rate to even lower than it's current appalling level and leave women at even greater risk.
2 comments:
Okaay so Tory/Lib.Dems proposal is for men charged with rape to be granted anonymity but why stop there let's have all defendants being granted the right of anonymity irrespective of what crime they are charged with. Because we must remember that when a defendant is acquitted his life 'has been devastated' irrespective of whatever crime he was charged with. And yes I know I have written his/him because the issue is all about men and protecting men.
I now await an onslaught of claims that women making false rape claims against innocent men number over 55%, rather than the reality of only between 2-8% false rape charges, which is far less than false claims concerning other crimes such as car insurance fraud and theft.
WHAT!
that is unbelievable. i know it's a hard truth but rape defendents need to be named. because, as you say, this helps other women come forward, this helps other women feel that they can name their attacker.
i hate how the argument about rape always veers weirdly back to false accusation. it happens i guess, but as you say, no one looks at insurance fraud accusations and go - hold up! what if the accuser is lying??!! and plenty of rich famous people have been acquitted and they happily carry on with their millionaire lifestyles and careers.
i voted lib dem. i don't think i ever will again. i feel so betrayed by the political system right now. i thought they were the party who took VAW seriously. betrayed.
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