A very compelling reason not to report rape

[GoldenWonderwall]

www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/vulnerable-women-routinely-jailed-false-rape?bfsource=bbf_enuk&utm_term=.dqqYVQ8bn4#.xkj2yRPZQA

I feel sick. I can’t believe that the police and cps use the difficulties in securing rape convictions against women to convict them. Taking a mother away from her baby, causing a mentally ill woman to take her own life. I’m sure there is some sensational reporting here but I’m unsurprised.

What can we do? Is there anything to be done or is it just another big brick in the wall of stfu about rape and sexual assault ladies?

TEMRA: I wrote a juror's eye view explainer of how courts work and also found a popular picture explaining how sure the jury have to be to convict. Strangely, a lot of former jurors took to twitter that day...

Correction to the twitter thread: "In the trial I was at, the lack of audio on the recording meant that there was no corrobation of her account of what she said" should end with "what he said".

Rapist or not, Alexander Economou is a cunt of the highest order. She killed herself ffs. Yet, he still feels so outraged that a woman dared go against him that he went for her family after her death. He is no victim.

Well the CPS who reviewed the case certainly thought he was as did the DPP, but you've read a Buzzfeed article. You clearly know better.

She killed herself. He never got justice. She never saw the inside of a court room. He'd every right to be upset. His opportunity to clear his name was stolen from him. The press still treated him as if he was probably guilty. Fuck going quietly in to the night in those circumstances

Try and assume for one minute he's innocent...

Did that, because like most of the decent human beings here we always do that. Then we count the red flags and recognize the narcissistic rage for what it is.

Racecardriver
You keep misspelling the peoples names you are @ing you won't be here much longer.
Some poor MN member just got a message that they are completely mystified by.

Perhaps if he stopped paying for google ads linking him to the trial, his legally clear name might have faded into obscurity.

Obviously a man’s clear name is more important than a woman’s actual life or freedom so let’s talk about that shall we?

She never saw the inside of a court room.

Exactly. She was never found guilty of anything. Legally she was just as as innocent as he is. With that in mind it might be wise to tread carefully and be very careful about what you say.

Perhaps if she wanted to keep her freedom she shouldn't have perverted the course of justice?

Again, she was never found guilty because she killed herself before it reached court. Legally she is innocent of any wrong doing.

I agree with plants last post

Well the last 2 as she is obviously quicker than me

He's just supposed to forgive and forget? Why should He?

Because she's dead and the people he's hurting now are her family who are innocents in this.

Because she cannot defend herself against the awful things he's saying about her and attacking people who can't respond is just flat wrong and frankly cowardly.

Because he's actually harming himself: I look at that website and I see someone who pursues vendettas, to the point that judges rebuke him when dismissing his libel cases, who is obsessed with destroying a dead woman and saying things about her being a prostituted woman that are probably not true and even if they are they are irrelevant to the case. I think to myself "if this man is ever in my life, in any capacity, and he takes a scunner to me, what will he do to me in the courts?" and I decide to memorise his name and likeness and run away fast if I ever see him. More cynical folks than me may even wonder whether someone capable of such a vendetta might be capable of a violent crime too, and in this, he harms his own reputation.

Because she has actually killed herself and for him that still isn't enough, even though any decent person would give the family some peace.

He'd every right to be upset.

@Iloveirnbru

There's 'feeling upset' and then there's going after a grieving father because you feel his dead daughter (who was clearly very mentally unwell) may have tarnished your reputation.

The woman is dead. AE is still alive and, honestly, he's probably done his own reputation more damage than she ever did.

Again this is baffling. He's just supposed to forgive and forget? Why should He?
She is dead. What is the point of holding onto all that anger and pursuing her family? It just makes him look like a knob

Cross post with @metrorider who's basically saying the same thing far more eloquently!

@Iloveirnbru

The things you are saying here are actionable.

Because she's dead and the people he's hurting now are her family who are innocents in this

He alleges her Dad made statements to the press saying he raped her.

"We were complaining about 7 sets of publications. There was one Radio interview, one TV interview and 5 newspaper articles"

So he should just ignore that? Most people would have to for financial reasons. He had the means. I think most people would do the same

He alleges her Dad made statements to the press saying he raped her.

Are you saying that a father should disbelieve his own daughter when she tells him she's been raped?

i think innocent or not that he is a nasty piece of work

The more he tries to defame the dead and go after grieving members of the family the less i place value on his cries of innocence

i think innocent or not that he is a nasty piece of work

The more he tries to defame the dead and go after grieving members of the family the less i place value on his cries of innocence

Yup.

He is not doing himself any favours here.

His opportunity to clear his name was stolen from him. The press still treated him as if he was probably guilty.

The problem there is with the press, not her.

But yes, suddenly, his motives become clear: it's not enough for him to be presumed not guilty (even though itbis for most other people), he wanted it proven beyond reasonable doubt, and the only way he could do so was by proving her a liar. Her potentially being sent to jail was an added bonus. I suspect he will have pulled a lot of strings (because the rich can and do, let's be honest, even just knowing who is in a case will affect how the CPS handle it) to get the CPS to ignore her psychiatrist's report that she was not fit to stand trial. And it backfired so spectacularly. I doubt it was her intent, but her suicide means that he will never have his innocence proved at her expense. And so he will rail on at her on his blog, whilst the rest of us see what an obsessional narcissist (thanks @thebewilderness, I couldn't remember the word) he is and steer well clear. She, in death, has done the women of the world a favour. Eleanor, I salute your memory. Rest in power.

The more he tries to defame the dead and go after grieving members of the family the less i place value on his cries of innocence

So what is an acceptable way for a victim to act? Because he's angry and wants vengeance he's less likely to be a victim?
"Cries of innocence" given he was never charged with an offence, it's not a cry at all.

@thebewilderness no I not old enough to remember that. But perhaps I have a certain privilege fur to growing up in a time and place where women are expected to stand up for themselves (for example by reporting a rape rather than jumping on a mbandwagon) and for men too. I am horrified by the prospect that something like this may happen to a man I love one day. The only way a man can defend himself from a false accusation is by making sure that he is never alone with a woman (kind of v like how a woman was once expected to never br alone with a man to avoid sexual assault). Do you really think that it OK to put men into that position? What exactly do you think that achieves? It isn't worth that much to a prosecution when women report rapes years or even decades after they have happened because there is little hope of finding any evidence. Instead of teaching our sons to fear women we should create a system where our daughters don't need to fear reporting a rape (and know to do so) because there are no consequences for them or anyone else unless the court find the accusation true. The reason why women don't report rapes unless other do too is because they are afraid that they won't be believed. Not being believed is only important where that may result in being charged of a crime themselves or held responsible for ruining a man's life. The stakes are too high on both sides to allow publication until the court has determined that a crime has taken place.

A decent person would not do what he is doing.

So what is an acceptable way for a victim to act?

Fuck me that's ironic

Considering the circumstances obviously

10th rule of misogyny: The worst thing about male violence is that it makes men look bad.