Rape victim jailed for falsely retracting accusation against a violent and abusive husband - help with campaign sought

[MmeLindt]

Can you help me spread the word about this?

I have no idea why this has not been reported more widely. Almost nothing on Twitter, no cries of outrage. Or rather, it is being reported but the general public do not want to know.

Guardian today reported that the woman has been abused for years, most recently just a couple of weeks ago.

She was jailed on Friday for perverting the course of justice. She accused him of raping her then falsely dropped the charges, saying that it was not true.

She was jailed despite the fact that he has attacked her several times in the past couple of months, for which he has not been charged.

Despite the fact that she only lied about the rape not happening because he pressured her to.

Does anyone have ideas how we can get more publicity, which blogs may be covering this?

original MN thread

There have been several threads about her in the last few days.

Yes.

There have been several thread.

There are often several threads about big news events.

I am asking on the Feminist topic for advice on who to contact to get more information on this, which is why I have started a new thread.

But she wasn't jailed for telling the truth. She was jailed for perverting the course of justice.

Yes, Phipps. That is true. Have you read the Guardian story? Do you really believe that this woman should be in prison?

The Crown Prosecution Service had the choice, to prosecute the victim for changing her story, or to prosecute her husband for raping and abusing her.

Do you really think that justice has been served?

But isn't the point that she did not tell the truth? - she said he had not raped her when he had.

I am not saying that what has happened is right in any way, and I don't know how jailing her is meant to serve any kind of purpose or represent any kind of justice, but your thread title is just inaccurate.

Yo MmeLindt - blogs I was mentioning:

Shakesville very widely read US blog

The Curvature US website written by a rape survivor

F Word UK based site where a lot of the "new feminists" write.

Of course I don't think she should be in prison but your thread is not titled should she be in prison for changing her story.

Justice hasn't been served if she is innocent and he is guilty but he was found not guilty and maybe if she hadn't changed her story that wouldn't have happened.

If he had been convicted she might not have been sent to prison.

x posted with SleepingLion.

Ok, will ask MNHQ to change the title.

good idea. No point have the thread filled up with squabbling over the title when there's a hell of a lot more at stake.

No, I didn't say that.

She has to take some responsibility for what she said and so do the police if she felt she had no choice to retract her statement as she didn't feel they would protect her.

But it is wrong she is in prison.

I have asked MNHQ to change the title.

Phipps
I know you did not mean that. It is an emotive subject. I don't think that anyone reading that Guardian article could fail to have sympathy for the woman.

My anger is towards her husband. And towards whatever fuckwit in the CPS decided that they should go ahead and prosecute HER and not HIM.

That Guardian article almost defies belief. How in Earth could a judge just ignore that evidence? Just appalling.

I can't believe the charges against him have been dropped. Presumably because she is "unreliable". FGS. Does the police/CPS/judicary adopt this attitude to anyone who has been intimidated into retracting/changing their story? When there is a clear and obvious terror being inflicted on them?

This man sounds like the sort of guy we hear about killing his wife:

got together with a vulnerable teenager when he was a much older man - tick

history of domestic violence - tick

controlling behaviour - tick

breaching control orders/property - tick

sexual violence - tick

Anyone remember Raoul Moat?

And what about her children, they are witnesses, and I bet other family/neighbours are too.

It is unbelievable.

Ok, got the kids to bed, will email a few of those links.

Will also email whoever else I can think of, CPS, MP, Justice secretary etc. Any other people I can harass?

Here is what I am writing:

You are perhaps aware of the court case last week that led to a woman being jailed for perverting the course of justice. The unnamed woman is 28 years old, mother of four sons and has for some years been suffering abuse at the hands of her now estranged husband.

Last November she phoned the police to report that she had been raped by her husband 6 times on three occasions. The police were no doubt aware of the fact that the woman was being abused, since they had been called to the house several times previously.

After coming under serious pressure from her husband and his family, the woman told the police in January of this year that she wished to drop the charges and was told that the Crown Prosecutions Service would proceed with the case.

In February she made a new statement to the police, stating that she had lied. She did this under the pressure of severe emotional blackmail from her husband and his sister.

When she realised that she could face several years in jail for making a false rape allegations, she made an final statement saying that she had lied, the rapes had taken place.

Obviously, under current law, she had tried to pervert the course of justice and could be prosecuted. The question is why the decision was made to do so, in the light of the continued intimidation by her husband.

Added to this is the fact that the police were called to her house on two separate occasions this autumn, the final time just weeks ago on 28th October.

The woman was by this time living separated from her husband, and when he tried to break into her house in the early hours of the morning in September, she naturally called the police. He was arrested and released on conditional bail, forbidding him going near her or the house. The CPS decided not to press charges and the restraining order was lifted on 28th October, the day of the alleged attack.

This time he dragged her out of her house, in front of her four children. He pulled her out of the house by her hair, and ripped off her clothes. One of the children later told the police that his mother ran back into the house with no clothes.

Despite the statements of mother and son, again no charges were brought.

I would be interested in knowing if you think that this is an acceptable stance for the CPS to take, and why there is not national outrage about a abused and confused woman being jailed, leaving her four boys without a mother for eight months. Not to mention the terrible emotional damage already inflicted on the boys.

It is a disgrace that a vulnerable woman has been treated so shabbily. It is no surprise that so few women are willing to report a rape when the threat of jail hangs over them should they for whatever reason decide not to go ahead with the court case.

yours disgusted from Tunbridge Wells, etc etc.

Anyone joining me in a mass email campaign?

Have you mentioned that no charges are being brought against HIM?

You are perhaps aware of the court case last week that led to a woman being jailed for perverting the course of justice. The unnamed woman is 28 years old, mother of four sons and has for some years been suffering abuse at the hands of her now estranged husband.

Last November she phoned the police to report that she had been raped by her husband 6 times on three occasions. The police were no doubt aware of the fact that the woman was being abused, since they had been called to the house several times previously.

After coming under serious pressure from her husband and his family, the woman told the police in January of this year that she wished to drop the charges and was told that the Crown Prosecutions Service would proceed with the case.

In February she made a new statement to the police, stating that she had lied. She did this under the pressure of severe emotional blackmail from her husband and his sister.

When she realised that she could face several years in jail for making a false rape allegations, she made an final statement saying that she had lied, the rapes had taken place.

Obviously, under current law, she had tried to pervert the course of justice and could be prosecuted. The question is why the decision was made to do so, in the light of the continued intimidation by her husband.

Added to this is the fact that the police were called to her house on two separate occasions this autumn, the final time just weeks ago on 28th October.

The woman was by this time living separated from her husband, and when he tried to break into her house in the early hours of the morning in September, she naturally called the police. He was arrested and released on conditional bail, forbidding him going near her or the house. The CPS decided not to press charges and the restraining order was lifted on 28th October, the day of the alleged attack.

This time he dragged her out of her house, in front of her four children. He pulled her out of the house by her hair, and ripped off her clothes. One of the children later told the police that his mother ran back into the house with no clothes.

Despite the statements of mother and son, again no charges were brought against the husband.

I would be interested in knowing if you think that this is an acceptable stance for the CPS to take, and why there is not national outrage about a abused and confused woman being jailed, leaving her four boys without a mother for eight months. Not to mention the terrible emotional damage already inflicted on the boys.

It is a disgrace that a vulnerable woman has been treated so shabbily. It is no surprise that so few women are willing to report a rape when the threat of jail hangs over them should they for whatever reason decide not to go ahead with the court case.

yours disgusted from Tunbridge Wells, etc etc.

Yes I will join you. The press obviously know and are reporting it. I'm not sure where else to go except for blogs etc. Who are "influential" bloggers/tweeters?

Have C4 news covered it?

If you want a straight answer it is simply that the cat in a bin case is just more black and white and easier for the public to understand. And more unusual .

The husband can only be prosecuted if charges are brought against him by the wife. For whatever reason, she has not brought charges against him until this latest incident, which she then retracted.

She should NOT be in prison for this "crime" definitely not. But the lack of a prison sentence for her husband is an entirely separate matter (in the cold light of day, etc). So if you are going to start a campaign, focus on the injustice of a custodial sentence for her.