We are facing the 'decriminalisation of rape' - article in the Guardian.

[cheeseismydownfall]

www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/14/we-are-facing-the-decriminalisation-of-warns-victims-commissioner

I'm glad that Dame Vera Baird QC is calling this out for what it is. How this can be allowed to have happened is beyond me.

[SophocIestheFox]

That a shocking indictment

In the year ending March 2017, the CPS prosecuted 3,671 cases, compared with 1,758 in the year ending March 2019, a drop of 52%. Baird says that anecdotally some police officers said they had made fewer referrals – which dropped by 22.6% over the same period – because they knew the CPS was prosecuting fewer cases

52%!

[Cabinfever10]

I agree op

[KetoWinnie]

I believe this. Always thought it was the crime that perp would get away with

[wellbehavedwomen]

A year ago it was reported that just 1.5% of cases REPORTED - and it's generally accepted that most ever are - result in charges. Not a conviction: charges.

[Broomfondle]

I hate how the last line is about recognising the need to 'drive up confidence' in the justice system, not the need to stop rapists raping.
It's more about how they look than actually fulfilling their purpose as an institution.

[wrongsideofhistorymyarse]

This saddens me but I'm not surprised.

We're only women.

[BaronessSlighterThanThou]

Proper representation needed in parliament. How long before half of the MPs are biological women?

Ten years? Twenty? A hundred? Ever?

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

Proper representation needed in parliament. How long before half of the MPs are biological women?

This is one of the many reasons why we can't let males hijack the equal parliament movement.

[PurpleButterflyAway]

Just yet another case of men harming women and getting away with it.

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

This saddens me but I'm not surprised.

We're only women.

YY. And if they showed they listened to women in anything, the police, the CPS, the government, perhaps that would "drive up confidence" for women reporting sex crimes. Because I have very little.

[Gwynfluff]

I think Vera Baird deserves our thank you cards for this actually and for pointing out the invasion of privacy in asking for access to phones/laptops.

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

YY. And for her work to prevent men using provocation of sexual jealousy as a defence to murder.

[CallarMorvern]

One of the things she mentions, is the taking of rape victims phones and laptops by the police. This horrifies me, probably more than the thought of an examination after an assault, even though I have nothing to hide. Just another thing to deter a victim from reporting.
(My Dad incidentally had his phone taken as the victim of another crime, the police kept it for 3mths, he didn't have details of a lot of his contacts backed up, so was upset by this, and the police were utter knobs about it).

[LadyEloise]

Dreadful case in Ireland this week.
A girl of 6 sexually assaulted by her 3 older brothers.
One of the brothers ( who continued raping his little sister about three times a week for four more years ) got a paltry 4 year jail sentence.
He'll be out in 2 probably.

Isn't that just dreadful.

[LadyEloise]

I despair of the Irish "Justice" system.

[DandyMandy]

This is scary but I'm glad it's being spoken about. The m*nosphere set out to legalise rape because they're a bunch of rapists praying they can get away with it. Funny how the man who raped men got the book threw at him due to being a serial rapist when there are plenty of serial rapists walking around getting pats on the back. They never found the serial rapist from Bath but it's obvious he was in law enforcement in some way and it was covered up.

If I am ever assaulted, I don't think I'll report it and that thought is so upsetting considering how normalised rape is.