Meant to blog about this before as the story made me unbelievably angry, angry because it is a blatant miscarriage of justice. Cath Elliott has written about the rape victim who has been imprisoned for 8 months for retracting her original allegations. Words fail me. The Judge is very wrong. Also, what were the cops doing when the woman told them she was being “emotionally blackmailed” by her husband? Isn’t this called “witness tampering”? It sounds she was being put under pressure to retract her allegations, the police failed this woman, the CPS failed her and the judge …well the judge showed himself to be cruel, and vindictive by sending this woman to prison and the husband getting away with rape! This is a travesty, a miscarriage of justice. It’s called punishing the victim!
In a statement from Rape Crisis: We are shocked that this woman has received a custodial sentence and by the length of it. It highlights a complete lack of understanding of the complexity and reality of women’s experience of violence in their lives.
Around 75-95% of rapes that are never reported to the police (HMCPS & HMIC, 2007). This is a startling and shocking percentage. And after this case, why the hell should a rape victim go to the police after this latest travesty?
UK conviction rates for rape (Kelly, Lovett, and Regan, 2005):
The uphill struggle women face when reporting a rape continues, justice is stacked against women. The assumption that women lie exposes further institutionalised misogyny within the police and the judiciary. And this latest case illustrates the point. Rape is still seen as a non-crime, where women are punished. And with these sexist assumptions endemic in society it is a wonder that women report rape when the odds are stacked against them accessing justice.
Rape to anyone with a sub atomic particle’s worth of human feeling is the destruction of a woman’s right to sexual self determination. Unfortunately that damned judge was blinkered by his own misogyny. The CPS stabbed her in back as well.
Misogyny alive and kicking in the judiciary….
The woman has been imprisoned in Styal Prison, I have contacted Rape Crisis asking whether it would be useful to send letters of solidarity and support to her via Rape Crisis and/or the woman’s legal team. She should be released immediately!
Update: received an email from Rape Crisis the woman has a bail hearing tomorrow pending an appeal. They will also get back to me re letters of support.
It is indeed appalling and we are trying at Rape Crisis, to contact her – however without a name, we are struggling………….. can anyone help?
Hi Jo,
Do you know who her solicitor is, which firm etc? If you do then contact them and maybe letters of solidarity can be sent via her legal team?
CPS response via CRASC
‘We are acutely aware of the difficulties faced by victims in
reporting rape and work hard to support complainants in giving their
best evidence at trial. This case was extremely unusual in that the
complainant actively worked to derail the t…rial, by first telling police
she had made up her original evidence, and then changing her story again and saying it had been true.
It was impossible to proceed with the case against her husband in these circumstances, and it was felt that the difficult decision to charge the complainant with perverting the course of justice was justified, particularly as substantial resources were used to investigate and prosecute the alleged rape and to provide support to the complainant’
So that’s ok then – they were only justifying the money spent on the case.
CPS has completely messed this case up and are looking for excuses. Reality is the rape victim is in prison, the husband has his freedom…
What awful Kafka-esque world are we living in.
[...] travesty of justice 12 11 2010 Further travesty of justice. I wrote a post before about a rape victim jailed for 8 months for retracting her original allegations. She appealed [...]
So a woman who it looks like has been scared off pressing home her case has been punished? It’s a bit feudal, mediaeval and dark ages with a soupçon of certain areas “abroad” where the ladies aren’t, ahem, respected by their menfolk. Areas which our media are fond of castigating for their feudal, mediaeval and dark age misogyny.
Anyone for stoning?
It is mediaeval and very scary! I hope justice prevails and that she is released very soon.