Ken Clarke differentiates date rape from 'serious rape'

[NotFromConcentrate]

AIBU to think it's time he went?

yes xstitch I will attempt a link - not done one before so fingers crossed
Ken Clark

It's about halfway down x

It looked like the interviewer brought up rape rather than Ken Clarke specifically being interviewed about it.

Poor preparation, sure. I expect the person who was meant to brief him will get severely bollocked.

SardineQueen - expecting him to know the law on rape and it being an actual job requirement are two different things. Michael Gove appears to know fuck all about education but manages to stay in post.

Just proves what an idiot he is. Rape isn't about sexual excitement its about dominance and control .

He was a lawyer.
He has been involved in rape trials when acting in that capacity.
He is minister for justice.
Rape is one of the most serious crimes on the books.

You seriously think it is OK that he makes statements about rape law that are completely incorrect?

I don't understand why you are so keen to not see that he did anything wrong at all, not even a tiny bit. Your perogative, obviously.

wonders if noblegiraffe IS K.C...?

knickers

Incidentally on C4 news earlier he said that he absolutely believes that consensual sex between teenagers is rape in all cases, and should be treated as such.

Well that's not what the law says at the moment.
And I don't think many people would want it changed to criminalise normal albeit underage sexual activity between consenting teens.

He doesn't know what he's talking about. He really doesn't.

Keen to say that he did nothing wrong? I said he was incorrect on a point of law and I said he was poorly prepared.

I said that I don't see those as sackable offences. Unless you want to sack all of them for ever making a mistake? Or having something they said be misconstrued?

Badly worded.

It is already illegal.

At the moment though it is not rape, and is very rarely prosecuted, for obvious reasons (not in the public interest).

Why would he want to change that?

(I claimed to have accidentally unfollowed him b/c I didn't want him to shut down the discussion; in actual fact I unfollowed as his tweets were irritating me on a range of topics & this was final straw)

dm maybe post on the feminism thread as well?

noblegiraffe if you think that the minister for justice in the UK making comments that are widely construed as categorising rape, with date rape apparently being minor and proper rape to have to involve violence, as a minor mistake, then again that is your perogative.

It is not a minor mistake by a long chalk. It is a huge gaffe at best, and at worst shows up his true approach to rape. ie he doesn't understand the law, he doesn't understand the issues surrounding the crime.

Sorry, I didn't mean to do such a blatant hijack. I have been reading this thread all along and haven't actually had a chance to post & momentarily forgot that I wasn't already on the thread.

Will look over at feminism thread.

dm I'm sure no-one minds!

I don;t tweet so I'm afraid I don't have the first clue how to help with that!

I'm going to log off now for the evening. Night ken all

DM I do that all the time!

For a victim of rape for anyone to suggest your rape wasn't serious is offensive. It is something you never get over. If that person is in a position of power and more importantly has influence over how rape cases are managed that offensive is multiplied greatly.

I do not want any woman to suffer the way I have and although I know can't protect everyone any time I see or hear someone doing or saying anything that could potentially make such suffering worse or endanger someone then I intend to speak up and will keep speaking up til my dying breath. My rapist may have destroyed my life and removed any chance of me ever having a normal life but he will not shut me up. I have spent enough time hanging my head in shame and keeping my mouth shut but not any more. If there is the slightest chance I can help just one woman then I will.

I think this has been blown out of proportion IMO. He was doing an interview and got himself in a muddle and said something pretty stupid, its unfortunate but I don't think it was an worse than that.

SardineQueen, it was a huge gaffe. As for his 'true approach to rape', you mean his calling sex with a minor 'rape' instead of 'sex with a minor' (or whatever the correct legal term is)? It's not like he said it was legal!

How they have been 'widely construed' is largely the responsibility of the media and how they reported it. Most people seem to have got their opinion from the papers rather than the actual interview.

People here are saying that his 'true approach to rape' is to say that it's sometimes not serious, when in fact he says that what he called 'serious rape' (when really he should have just called it 'rape' because what he was attempting to distinguish it from legally isn't called rape) is a serious crime, that needs to be treated as such.

I think we should rape Ken Clark and see how he likes it!

That's a horrible thing to say grandma even in jest. I wouldn't wish rape on my worst enemy.

How can he have any credibility after this? He has made stupid comments, shown a poor knowledge of the legal definitions and sentencing, as well as demonstrating a total lack of empathy for victims.

IF he were a bloke on the street then it would be irritating, BUT he is a former QC, has worked on rape cases and is Secretary of State for Justice so there is no excuse!

Call for his resignation.

I disagree xstitch , I would wish rape on my rapists!

"Sexual excitement"???!!! Did he actually say that? Didn't he also say that he has been involved in rape trials during the interview? Surely he should know that claiming a debate over rape stirs up sexual excitement is utterly disgusting.

so, the justice secretary doesn't understand the law, doesn't think rape is rape unless it's down a dark alley and the rapist is armed, and wants to let convicted rapists out after 15 months.

Fantastic. Tells you all you need to know about Clarke (who I previously quite liked) and about the government which put him in post and plans to keep him there.

I wouldn't tbh. What I would wish for my rapist is for the town to discover what a scumbag he really is and stop fawning over him as if he is perfection personified. That would hurt him more than anything. I also wouldn't mind his fans apologising to me so I can tell them to fuck off.