If you don't want people to know that you're a rapist, that's okay. According to the British government. Well, during the trial at least. Now, far be it from me to be one of THOSE feminists who assumes that all men are bastards who just want to rape or rip off women all the time. I'm not. I love men, I really do, there are some truly fantastic guys in this world. However, there is always the sector of the population who commit rape, and it is these ones and these ones only that are under discussion now.
Britain has a conviction rate of 6% in rape cases. That means that for every rape reported, only 6% of them are ever successfully prosecuted. We will, for a moment, leave aside the likelihood that a large number of rapes go unreported (in South Africa, health officials estimate that approximately 90% of rapes go unreported. I don't know what the statistics are for the UK), and skip straight to the punch line. Why do accused rapists get protection? I know there are anonymity laws to prevent people from being mobbed, and it's considered indiscrete of journalists to publish names early on in court cases. However, if you read about a guy who raped you being on trial for another rape, wouldn't you like the opportunity to come forward and add your testimony?
As far as I'm concerned (and I'm risking sounding like a crazy man-hater again), if you (allegedly?) take away someone's dignity, you lose the right to have your reputation protected. Yes, I advocate naming and shaming. Now, it could probably ruin the love life of whoever was accused, but they'll probably be cleared of the crime anyway. At least if we can name and shame, the survivor gets a modicom of justice, knowing that other people finally know the truth about him. Or am I just being an overly-emotional rape survivor here?
Edit to add: Source
Britain has a conviction rate of 6% in rape cases. That means that for every rape reported, only 6% of them are ever successfully prosecuted. We will, for a moment, leave aside the likelihood that a large number of rapes go unreported (in South Africa, health officials estimate that approximately 90% of rapes go unreported. I don't know what the statistics are for the UK), and skip straight to the punch line. Why do accused rapists get protection? I know there are anonymity laws to prevent people from being mobbed, and it's considered indiscrete of journalists to publish names early on in court cases. However, if you read about a guy who raped you being on trial for another rape, wouldn't you like the opportunity to come forward and add your testimony?
As far as I'm concerned (and I'm risking sounding like a crazy man-hater again), if you (allegedly?) take away someone's dignity, you lose the right to have your reputation protected. Yes, I advocate naming and shaming. Now, it could probably ruin the love life of whoever was accused, but they'll probably be cleared of the crime anyway. At least if we can name and shame, the survivor gets a modicom of justice, knowing that other people finally know the truth about him. Or am I just being an overly-emotional rape survivor here?
Edit to add: Source
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