Marina Hyde on Epstein’s enablers: will they get away with it? |

Yes, quite possibly there is some political link, but there’s no actual evidence of it in the Epstein files as far as I can see. It’s just speculation until some emerges.

So sorry to hear this, but sadly tallies with so many other occassions when the establishment / men just close ranks.

Its as though even if they themselve have not done wrong, the recognise that the system that puts them in power needs to be protected.

And although when it is about child abuse and sexual violence against women, you would think some would want to stand up and challenge, the cover ups just go on happening.

Look at the Post Office scandal, Grenfell, and many others.

So no surprise that when it is about women and / or children not only does nothing happen, but those who try to make something happen get turned on.

Just remember the treatment of Virginia Giuffre

People trying to make out she was mad, or a fantasist and worse.

And why was Epstein interested in Farage? The Russian link? Steve Bannon? There’s more to this sorry story than sex. Money talks.

It just seems to be newspaper articles sent to Epstein which mention him. What is there to talk about? I don’t think it’s a good idea to imply anything that isn’t supported by evidence.

Yes, it appears that he is named, as in named in news articles shared by people about political stories in Europe as part of various emails between various parties.

Can't seem anything so far to show that he was in contact with anyone there.

So talk about it, what's the details on Farage.

Farage is named but no one is talking about it

McSweeney's gone. OMG, may be Starmer next. 😮

This is a great read about the misogyny at play within the Epstein scandal
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/feb/07/sex-and-snacks-but-no-seat-at-the-table-the-role-of-women-in-epsteins-sordid-mens-club

There is no mechanism in society to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Ten years ago I played a v small part in getting the Westminster enquiry into elite paedophile rings set up in the wake of Savile’s death .
This was obstructed at every turn and by every means possible .
This obstruction came from the press , the police , the judiciary,the BBC ,leading politicians of all parties …I was personally physically threatened .
Politicians talked about ‘leaving no stone unturned’ on TV in seeking justice for the children ( often in care ) who’d been abused / killed .
Whilst powerful men can blackmail other powerful men (and control all the means by which justice could be obtained) over depraved sexual desires things will never change .
Caroline Lucas was one of a handful of MPs who was brave and steadfast in trying to get to the bottom of the hideous sordid mess which effectively controls all of lives .

@Shortshriftandlethal - At what point does one become a victim, rather than a conscious chooser?

This is a very interesting point.

In my opinion, we have literally groomed our young, especially young girls. completely and utterly failed them. Handed them over, en masse to nasty people who would have them walk red carpets naked or topless and call it empowerment.

But - even if we do not want to accept that or argue it, one can imagine that a young girl could be persuaded to come to a party where she will meet the world's leaders and royalty.

Once they walk in that door, where all the men are 40 plus, all are have extreme wealth even by wealth standards, all are powerful in some obvious way or other, that are already in a trap that they cannot really get out of.

We know that as women, because we can all imagine being in a room and trying to figure out a way to get out.

They were all so young and those fuckers all so old.

We should not be looking at the "choice" of the young women.

We should be looking at the choice of the men - Bill Gates - really? You fucking wanker.

See, I think the conversation should be about the men - otherwise they get to hide (behind the victims), become invisible.

We need the focus to stay firmly on them - keep them exposed, keep exposing the unnamed, have them shamed and shunned.

Yes - the victims need their day - absolutely.

But they will only get proper accountability if those who abused them are hung out, and have to carry publicly what the victims carried privately.

Hopefully someone will to go to prison.

For that though, the statute of limitations for sex crimes needs to be revisited. It protects these fuckers the world over.

We have enough understanding to know that victims will not come forward within the prescribed term limits.

This has always been known in my opinion, hence those term limits in the first place.

Nope. The point at which girls become victims is usually WAY before that. Having known more women working in the sex industry than is usual I can tell you that 100% were survivors of child sex abuse even if they didn’t tell it that way.
Its hard to explain how seedy and twisted the world of men paying for sexual activity is, and so many girls fall into it because they have been trained to think of themselves in a certain way since childhood.

Yep. And the unpleasant briefing against each other to try and get Starmer out so they can get the top job. Those victims sure are convenient for getting ahead!

and funny how other victims, such as the grooming gang victims, aren’t so convenient so a generally ignored

A lot of hypocrisy in the media. How many sexual predators have been revealed to work in the media and happily promoted by all these people?

The establishment (governments of all levels, mainstream media etc) are all in on it, they know all about the behaviours of certain individuals but all chose to keep quiet and then pretend that they never knew.

Though, of course, you could say the same about prostitution, but in that case the thing that is preventing the women from leaving is the perception that this is the 'easiest' way for them to obtain the money they need to survive. The idea of the 'happy hooker' who just does it for fun is a fantasy.

At what point does one become a victim, rather than a conscious chooser?

Perhaps the point where they realise they made a really bad choice and choose to not do it anymore but can't get out of the situation they find themselves in because those who hold the power in the situation won't let them.

Of course some of these same also people talk about 'sex work' and 'choice' and how women and girls can make up their own minds. It takes an act of conscious cognitive dissonance to hold together the idea of 'victims' on one hand, but also the concept of sexual liberation and the 'right' to accrue money or benefits from the sale of one's body, on the other.

At what point does one become a victim, rather than a conscious chooser?

You must be following a completely different bunch of lefties than me.

“What made the men think they were protected…”

Continued experience.

Only one person has been convicted. And she’s not a man. Arguably Andrew M-W’s fall, cushioned as it is, has been due to his obnoxious behaviour parading through Windsor great park, grinning. And had Mandelson not sent the ‘financial emails’ he would not be facing the same opprobrium.

girls and young women trafficked internationally; girls and young women trafficked across cities/towns; girls and young women passed around by rich men; girls and young women passed around by “grooming” (rape) gangs; vulnerable girls and young women drugged and raped by multiple men; married women drugged and raped by multiple men.

This isnt a case of Epstein-the-unique-monster, much as we are tempted to believe and the fevered and salacious media focus only on him is sickening in itself.

The story of men/males taking advantage of, and exploiting, women and girls is as old as the hills. And clearly, given certain circumstances, and an opportunity, many men, all kinds of men, are susceptible to behaving in this way.

What does this tell us? i suggest it tells us that one of the most negative masculine traits is this opportunistic and exploitative attitude towards sex, and towards females generally. ( though men also sexually abuse and exploit boys and other men too)

Is this negative manifestation the result of a 'patriarchal system' and its accompanying 'misogyny' which can somehow be eradicated entirely, or is it more simply a negative trait that is inherent to 'masculinity' and/or the male sexual urge?

All humans experience the same kinds of instinctive drives and urges - which are accompanied by strong emotions, and in civilised societies there is an attempt to control or regulate their expression, in pursuit of social harmony and functionality. There tends to be a system of rewards and punishments which are meant to reinforce desired behaviours, and suppress, or guard against, more negative or destructive ones.

Obviously those with power have more control and ability to shape the value system (with its accompanying rewards and punishments). It could well be that power differentials are hard-wired in - since there seem scant few examples of societies in which there is total equality of status between all members. Most often it is the biggest, the strongest, the loudest, the most skilful, the most agile, talented, able, clever, cunning, industrious...... who tend to accrue more influence, more power and more benefits.

This is where safeguarding principles come in, and the concept of a safety net and/or basic standards of provision. If we know these are the enduring facts of human nature and human society then we, at best, take measures to mitigate against the worst effects and impacts of that.

The Epstein case shocks us and wakes us up to this enduring reality.

For me this whole situation also highlights part of the enormous argument against legitimising and sanitising prostitution.

The men Epstein was providing victims for can say but I thought she was being paid/ I paid her in their disingenuous defence that they had no idea about trafficking and abuse.

If buying or selling sex was always illegal they wouldn’t have this to hide behind.

Carole Cadwalladr wrote a really good piece on her Substack too (her column is called The Broligarchy). She, Gaby Hinsliff, Marina Hyde, Helena Rumbelow are telling it like it is, but 50% of the population aren’t listening.

I heard it as well and was incredibly frustrated by the idiot who kept banging on about Keir Starmer when asked about misogyny. She should have been shut down because she was still repeating her answer to the previous question.

The Times article was great on this, quoting extensively from the letters. They were utterly vile. And yes I too would like to hear more about the ways those girls were recruited. Interestingly one of the emails quoted was from a girl refusing to be one of those girls who recruits girls for Epstein.

I heard Any Questions and was heartened by the boos and shouting directed at the Reform woman. She was just nauseating.