JUDGES HAVE CREATED A RAPISTS’ CHARTER
Why will I, a committed anti-rape campaigner, now advise victims to think twice before going to court? Because the Ched Evans judges have created a...
FOR almost 40 years, I have fought for justice for victims of rape and sexual assault. In that time we have moved from a position where – and it seems incredible today – rape in marriage was legal and women were routinely told by police they had ‘brought it on themselves’, to a position that, for the first time in history, many victims feel confident enough to report sexual assaults without fear of being blamed and humiliated.
All that changed on Friday. The acquittal of footballer Ched Evans, and in particular the way his defence was run, has set us back 30 years at least.
This is not just a ‘women’s issue’. We should all of us be concerned by the disgraceful way in which his defence team introduced the sexual history of a woman who had, until last Friday, been declared by the courts to be the victim of a despicable act.
And we should be troubled at the way some of the most senior legal figures in the country – Lady Justice Hallett, sitting with Mr Justice Flaux and Sir David Maddison in the Court of Appeal – allowed it to happen.
They ruled that it was a ‘rare case’ in which it would be appropriate to allow ‘forensic examination’ of the woman’s sexual behaviour.
But for me, the upshot is this: if I were raped today, I would not report it to the police. Despite the fact I am a strong feminist with lots of support, and that I understand rape is only ever the fault and responsibility of the rapist, I don’t think I could endure what would inevitably face me in court.
I have spent my life campaigning for perpetrators to be brought to task. But I do not think I could have it on my conscience to encourage any woman to go through this ordeal.
Of course, I accept it is not possible to retry the case. Evans has been acquitted and is, in the eyes of the law, an innocent man, even if his actions that night were those of a knuckledragging Neanderthal. But that must not shut down the debate. There are serious principles at stake. The first is this: consent remains consent, and it must be given freely.
If one person does not have the freedom and capacity to give that consent – and the other person doesn’t reasonably believe there is consent – then it is an offence.
When someone is roaring drunk, then they do not have that capacity.
Evans has openly admitted he did not speak to the complainant before, during or after sex.
TCO-FOUNDER OF JUSTICE FOR WOMEN HEN there is the question of how appropriate it is that substantial rewards were offered to those coming forward with information that could help overturn the earlier verdict.
Evans’s supporters, including his partner’s wealthy parents, hired private detectives and offered a £50,000 reward for any information that might lead to his acquittal. After losing one appeal, they took the case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which fast-tracked it and brought the case back to the Court of Appeal.
Then, we return to my most serious concern – the deliberate use of the woman’s sexual history against her.
In court, Evans’s lawyers produced two men who were both known to the footballer’s friends. These witnesses said they had had sex with the complainant in the weeks before and after she alleged rape.
Both witnesses said she behaved with them in detailed sexual terms as Evans had claimed she did with him. And so the judge agreed that evidence of the woman’s sexual history could be admitted.
I believe this will have a devastating impact on victims – and that it will in future stop them coming forward for fear of what they face in court.
I was part of a research team in 2003 that monitored the effectiveness of the laws preventing routine cross examination of a complainant’s sexual history.
I sat through a number of rape trials and heard the flimsy reasons used by defence barristers when arguing that the judge should make an exception and allow the jury to listen to salacious details about the complainant’s sex life.
In our research, judges granted permission in twothirds of the cases that we observed and did allow sexual history evidence, which was raised even i n some cases involving children.
It has been widely reported it is rare for previous sexual history evidence to be admitted as evidence, but this is blatantly untrue. I hear regular stories from friends and colleagues that work in Rape Crisis and other support services of their clients being grilled in the witness box about their sex lives.
Sexual histories are already dragged up and they already have a chilling effect on victims’ willingness to come forward. The Ched Evans case has made this many times worse.
For the woman who complained, the results have been life changing. Thousands of Evans’s supporters on social media have revealed her name, harassed and vilified her, calling her a ‘whore’, a ‘slag’ and even worse. They have scared and distressed this young woman so badly she has been forced to change her identity and move house on several occasions.
SINCE the acquittal, this misogynistic vitriol has been directed at myself and other feminists. Since I tweeted that I believed the complainant and that I would continue to campaign, I have received thousands of threats, vile insults, all woman-hating in nature, and with several saying either that I should be raped, or that I am too ugly to rape.
A rape victim is judged for what clothes she wears, how much she drank, her behaviour with the defendant, and how quickly she reported the allegation to the police.
When she is in the witness box, her lifestyle, medical history, and intimate details of her sex life can be laid out for all the world to hear.
Such questions are not asked if you are mugged.
So it is with immense regret that I have concluded this: unless you are a teetotal virgin, it is probably best not to report rape unless you are very robust and have masses of support.
I can honestly say that things have got much worse for women who make the difficult and brave decision to report rape. I can honestly say the verdict in the Evans case will put countless victims off reporting, and result in scores of guilty men walking free.
The Ched Evans acquittal, and the way his defence was run, has led to a rapists’ charter.
IfI I were raped, I would notn report it to the police