THIS COWARDLY VICTIM BLAMING IS NO DEFENCE AND WON’T BE TOLERATED

ACCORDING to the campaign group ‘We Can’t Consent to This’, some 60 women in the UK have been killed by men through sexual violence since the 1990s, with their killers claiming that their victim died as a result of so-called ‘rough sex gone wrong’.

It is the very worst kind of cowardly victim blaming imaginable. It’s absurd to suggest any woman can consent to the very sexual violence that kills them, and this Government has already made crystal clear in law that ‘rough sex gone wrong’ is no defence.

I’m sure Daily Mail readers agree – this level of sexual violence against women must never be tolerated, justified, or somehow seen as normal. Those responsible must face the consequences of their actions.

Now we are going further to make sure the punishment fits the crime, by introducing a new aggravating factor for manslaughter involving sexual conduct. It means killers who cause death by abusive, degrading or dangerous sexual behaviour will face longer behind bars.

This Government is sending a clear message: any man who thinks they can take a woman’s life into their own hands – metaphorically and physically – should expect to pay a heavy price when his intimate partner dies.

This builds on our concrete measures to protect women from sexual violence.

A report looking at the progress we have made in our Rape Review, published today, shows more rapists being brought to trial, with the number of adult prosecutions higher than in 2010, and sentences up by around a third. We are determined to do more, training 2,000 specialist rape investigators by April this year and increasing the number of Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisers to more than 1,000.

Our Victims’ Code Campaign, launching today, will help make sure every victim knows the rights they can expect to receive in the justice system – from receiving support and updates on their case, to being able to ask for special measures in court - such as giving evidence by video link.

Violence against women is a stain on our society and we are determined to stamp it out. I want every victim to know that this Government is on their side, as we relentlessly hold perpetrators to account, and work to ensure victims get the support and justice they deserve.