AIBU to think rape is now legal in the UK?

[verdantverdure]

If there's almost no chance of a rapist being caught and punished then rape is legal, right?

Less than 0.7% are ever convicted.

Less than 1.4% are ever even charged

I'm not sure this is a government that cares about women, you guys.

YANBU

YANBU

Where have those figures come from?

Pretty much. It's not legal, of course, but no one's getting prosecuted for it, so may as well be.
It's terrifying.

Was it better under any other government? Yanbu

Well, no. Just because someone is unlikely to be caught for a crime doesn’t mean the activity is legal. I understand your point but your AIBU is still U. We do need much harsher sentences for many crimes and basically all crimes committed against women.

Rape is not legal in the UK. The law has not changed.

It is however often difficult to convict. And huge cuts to support services,.the police, and the courts mean it is now even more difficult.

Way to miss the point Kanaloa.

It may as well we legal OP. YANBU.

Of course it isn't legal.

Charging and conviction rates are very low though.

Kent Police confirmed it this week

YANBU

YANBU.

Interestingly (and rather depressingly) we were notified in our primary school bulletin of a TikTok trend of ‘national rape day’. I feel that goes a long way to show to normalisation rather than what should be a natural repulsion.

It most definitely is legal in the UK even the police seem to say that there is no way they can get the rapist to court.
The government do not spend any time or our money on any investigations and it is becoming a lot worse than it ever has been .
And if you are a young girl you get no support . There is nothing set-up for young teenagers .

Well that's a bit concerning! How can rape be a non urgent enquiry?

@unclebuck it's quite sickening they can include rape and sexual assault in the same list as feedback and compliments - what a horrific poster

That poster is shocking and utterly depressing

Correction:

1.6% of reported rapes lead to charges.

61. 9% of those charged are convicted.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/angela-rayner-fumes-rapists-allowed-29579440

I didn’t miss the point. I just think it’s pointless making random comments. If the discussion had been ‘aibu to think we need better structure in law enforcement for xyz’ then I’d have agreed wholeheartedly. Random comments like ‘rape is legal! If conviction rates are low that means it’s legal’ just makes you look like you can’t have a proper discussion and makes it much easier for others to dismiss your point as hysterical/idiotic/stupid.

It can be a non-urgent enquiry if its weeks or months after the fact. The point of the poster was to emphasise that as well as it being a crime that should be reported ASAP, if you have decided weeks or months later you can also report is via non-urgent means rather than phoning 999

It's not in any way 'disgusting' or any of the other ridiculous, ignorant hyperbole that it provoked.

In the same way that drugs are gradually decriminalised over time with a lack of policing, so is rape. And considering how many men admit they would rape if they could get away with it, it's chilling.

What women do with information is another matter. Young women are being trained to consent to more and more and expect less and less pleasure. When does the tipping point come where it's simply not worth shagging men?

Rape appears to be technically illegal whilst being effectively unpoliced.

And if it said 'historic rape' @XDownwiththissortofthingX you might have a small point. But it doesn't, does it?

I think it has been for a long time. Look at the way universities have long behaved - taking the law into their own hands and trying to brush problems under the carpet, rather than following the proper legal process and reporting allegations to the police. Easy access to pornography seems to have made the problem worse, but low rates of prosecution have always been a problem.

Have to say I disagree with you there. Serious life changing crime is not a "non urgent enquiry". Plus it doesn't specify the time frame. Very insensitive towards victims of rape.

Why isn't murder on the list I wonder?

It would have been better to write "reporting of crime where no one is currently at risk" or similar.

Yes, there is no deterrent.
I listened to an interview with the author mona Eltahawy where she said “how many rapist do we have to kill before men stop raping” and that stuck with me as the only deterrent men would fear.
that and other MEN standing up to them but that’s not gonna happen is it?!

As police get their numbers cut further under this Tory government, many crimes are getting less likely to be investigated properly. Police are not interested in theft of property now either, they just give you a reference for insurance and make zero effort to investigate.

Rape always had a low conviction rate as most rapes are by someone known to the victim, often their partner, making it difficult to prove consent wasn't given. Plus at the moment there's a 2 year delay in cases coming to court. That's due to cuts in funding to the legal system.