It's not rape if you're wearing lacy knickers.

I didn't report my rape, and if it ever happened again I wouldn't again. It makes me sick to think about but I do actually think if it happened to DD or DSD I would encourage them not to report. The system is a fucking joke.

Ruth Coppinger T D produced a lacy th ong from her sleeve at Questions to the Taoiseach yesterday. Recognised it was incongruous at a Dail session but made the point it was also incongruous for a teenage rape victim in a courtroom.
Fair play to Coppinger.

Not sure if this has been posted yet?

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/mum-ayrshire-girl-who-killed-13591548

Guardian covering protest in Belfast Thong protest in Belfast raises concerns over rape trials

But presea they’ve got it all wrong - surely it should all be coloured in a lacy pattern?

Oh wait. Silly me. As you were...

Just seen this amazing pie chart on twitter.

They will try to hold anything against you in a trial like this to tarnish your character. I was sexually assaulted a few years ago, but as he was a serial attacker and DNA was obtained he pleaded guilty so I never had to stand trial. However, while I was waiting for the trial I had my path obstructed on the street and was flashed at by another man in broad daylight (he apparently had a track record of this), so I reported him to the police and had to go to court. In that trial the defence tried to hold it against me that I had been sexually assaulted as though to say I was obsessed with seeing dicks everywhere or something, a particularly low tactic although the judge dismissed his comment. They had him on CCTV anyway, so thankfully it was an open and closed case. Really feel for this woman and anyone going through this. When I've told others what happened to me I always defensively point out I was completely covered up in a long winter coat and that it was in the daytime, and hate the fact that I feel I have to point this out as it shouldn't make any difference. The blame is always on the woman for 'putting herself in danger', disgusting this is coming from another woman.

Good article here about it :
In October 1978 five thousand women came from all over Ireland to take part in a protest march through the centre of Dublin organised by the new Dublin Rape Crisis group. Anne Connolly led the chant: “Yes means yes and no means no, however we dress, wherever we go.” Forty years later, last week, in the closing stages of a rape trial in Cork, a barrister for the defendant told the jury they should consider the underwear the 17-year-old complainant was wearing. “Does the evidence out-rule the possibility that she was attracted to the defendant and was open to meeting someone? You have to look at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a thong with a lace front.”

Lots of women like lacy thongs. The department stores are full of them. Lots of women prefer big cotton knickers. These too are widely available. All women are at risk of rape. Now if we knew what sort of knickers rapists wear, that would really be helpful. Especially if they’d wear them outside their trousers.

Full Article : www.irishtimes.com/opinion/out-for-a-good-time-yes-dressed-to-be-raped-no-1.3692397

Absolutely disgusted by this and especially since it happened in my city too. My own daughter is a year older than that poor girl, and still a child in my eyes. The whole things is so upsetting.

This is a great FB post on it :

www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=699301917119912&id=100011203293295

Protests happening in cities around Ireland which is great to see

Would be great to see support for this in the uk

www.google.ie/amp/s/amp.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/protests-to-be-held-in-five-cities-calling-for-reform-of-handling-of-rape-trials-885284.html

www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/thisisnotconsent-women-post-photos-of-their-underwear-after-cork-rape-trial-885173.html

Ohmy ditto here but without the support, my officer is “busy” and my ISVA has sent me precisely 3 texts to say they are “busy”.

I know nothing yet they have access to everything. It’s just wrong.

I’m absolutely sickened by this. If I was ever raped, I don’t think I’d be able to report it. I’d get the bastard castrated

OhmydearGod my heart goes out to you and to all the other girls and women that have been through similar.

I never did report the men that raped me, i was too scared of not being believed.

Ms Justice Carmel Stewart and Ms Elizabeth OCarroll SC you should be ashamed of yourselves. I hope karma bites you in your arse, you should step down as unfit for purpose, fucking rapist victim blaming handmaidens that you are.

I hope that you both find your full names printed far and wide on the internet for all to see just how fucking out of order you are.

To the child, yes 17 is a child still, that had this awful ordeal happen to her, the rape, the court case and the knicker bull shite, i am so deeply sorry. I hope that you have supportve people around you.

I believe you

This is heartbreaking. I’ve said it for years now, I would NEVER encourage anyone I know to report a rape, the trials are often more traumatic that the initial attack. It makes me so sad, and so so angry

OhmydearGod oh love I am absolutely appalled that the scum who did this can have so much information about your life. You are so, so strong to do this, and so very very brave. I bet you don’t feel strong though. Sending all the strength I can conjure.

From what I can see re the recent high profile rape cases (and all the others that didn’t make the news) the system is broken for these sorts of cases. I’m incredibly lucky that I have never been raped or sexually assaulted but I would be wholly behind any organisation which wa fed to change now the legal system treats survivors.

That it actually true now, and very scarey.
Where did this happen?

Maybe the judge should instruct all shops that sell lacy knickers that they should now come with a warning label on them - 'beware, wearing these knickers means you want to be raped and the rapist to get away with it' perhaps...

Because like most other women I'm guessing that nobody puts knickers on in the morning and thinks that they had better not put lace ones on because if they get raped it will mean that I wanted it...

Of course!

#Istandwithposie May i pm you?

That's the only type of underwear I wore as a teenager! I doubt many teenagers are wearing full frumpy pants, and how degrading and embarrassing for her to have her underwear discussed in court on top of everything else shes been through.

All they need is a letter from.counsellor or GP, no need for access to confidential notes so they can use them as a basis of character assassination, which isny actually a defence
Oh strength to you for this

ohmy you are one strong woman to put yourself through all that! Wishing you justice and all the strength and support you need to get through this.

This is horrific, there is absolutely no requirement for your attacker to have even further access to you. My god, that is just further abuse, how dare they give him any further information about you. No wonder so few do this. I admire you hugely. This has got to change. What relevance can your medical history have to being violated by him. He did this, what a shocker

I really couldn't fault the policewoman. It's a special unit she works in. She has done absolutely everything she can to make it as easy as possible for me. She rings when she says she will, updates me when she has information I am allowed to know. I've not had to speak to any other police officer than her. I have her mobile number. She organised other support for me. The horrific things that she must hear every day . She has kids of her own. I couldn't do her job but I'm very thankful she can.

It's the court system. They have to know all about previous abuse as the defence may say that I was confusing the offence with another . They have to look through my counselling notes to see whether i mentioned it to the counsellor (the case is not about the worst abuse i suffered so most of my counselling had been about the other stuff).

And yes, the court case has been worse than the original offence (this case is about assault not rape). However I have been raped and this court case is still worse. It drags on for ages, apart from the intrusive questions it also perminates into all of my relationships. It affects my relationship with my dp, with my kids, with my family who have never been supportive. My work have had to be told, my friends have been questioned and have to give evidence. My relationship with my mother will never be the same. I'm hypersensitive to things that I wouldn't have given a second thought to before. My case involves a certain type of institution where this sort of thing is sadly too common (think boarding school or cadets group type set up). The 'institution' pays for a dedicated support worker, almost unlimited private counselling and probably anything else I could ask for. It's still been horrific. Sadly the girl in the op wouldn't have had any of the extra support i have been given and her offence was much worse than mine. She must be devastated now . I don't know how i will feel if he gets off. The policewoman told me that not guilty actually means not proven beyond all reasonable doubt and beyond all reasonable doubt is very difficult to prove. Doesn't mean that he didn't do it and could mean every one of the jury was 95% sure that he did.