What Judge Kushner said
THE male public has to know that just because a girl may be agreeable to having sex with one person, that is not an open invitation for anybody else to pile in on the off-chance, because otherwise it does end up being rape or some other offence.
There’s absolutely no excuse, and a woman can do with her body what she wants, and a man will have to adjust his behaviour accordingly. But as a woman judge I think it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention one or two things.
I don’t think it’s wrong for a judge to beg women to take actions to protect themselves. That does not put responsibility on them rather than the perpetrators, because the way I look at this burglars are out there, and nobody says burglars are OK, but we do say please don’t leave your back door open at night, take steps to protect yourselves against burglars.
Girls are perfectly entitled to drink themselves into the ground, if they want to, but they should be aware that people who are potential offenders do actually gravitate towards girls who have been drinking. It shouldn’t happen, it shouldn’t be like that, but it does happen – we see it as judges time and time again. They do so for very simple reasons – first a girl who is in drink is more likely to
agree, because they are more disinhibited. Certainly they are less likely to be able to fight a man with evil intentions off. Finally, even if they manage to have their way with a girl or woman without her consent, the likelihood is she will be less likely to report it because she was drunk, because maybe she can’t remember what happened, or feels too ashamed to deal with it, and maybe, if they go in a criminal court, a girl who has been drunk is less likely to be believed, rightly or wrongly, than one who was sober.
Women, when they go out on the town, yes they’re entitled to do as they like – but please be aware there are men out there who gravitate towards a woman who might be more vulnerable than others. I beg girls to have this in mind. That is my final plea, in my final criminal trial, and my final sentence.’