Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

A bit of good news - 'strangled' wife overturns claims she libelled husband.

35 replies

truthisarevolutionaryact · 03/04/2019 12:47

www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-6881123/Woman-51-WINS-supreme-court-fight-accused-libelling-ex-husband.html

She was supported by the brilliant Harriet Wistrich / Centre for Women'd Justice.

Flowers for her.

OP posts:
Whatisthisfuckery · 03/04/2019 12:51

hurrah, words actually mean something.

Barracker · 03/04/2019 12:52

Relief.
Very good news.

Somerville · 03/04/2019 12:53

This is the only cheerful bit of news all week.

truthisarevolutionaryact · 03/04/2019 12:55

Somerville - your own courageous actions brought a lot of us much cheer today Flowers

OP posts:
JessicaWakefieldSVH · 03/04/2019 12:57

I’m so pleased for her. He’s a horrible bully.

RepealTheGRA · 03/04/2019 13:04

Can I put a downer on things Blush (sorry).

I saw on the news that the Supreme Court said that the high court was ‘overly reliant on the dictionary definition of words’ does that have implications elsewhere?

Other than that. Result! Very good news especially in view of the ‘right to shag yer wife’ bollocks.

nauticant · 03/04/2019 13:20

That doesn't automatically ring alarm bells with me RepealTheGRA since that follows many areas of law where in looking for meaning one should have regard to dictionaries but should also think about the use of the word(s) in context.

I'm very pleased to see this decision.

Having written that, I went looking for another report and found this in The Times:

Mr Justice Mitting, the High Court judge who heard the initial claim, said that he referred to the Oxford English Dictionary definition of the verb “strangle” and decided that Ms Stoker’s post meant that her ex-husband had tried to kill her.
...
The Supreme Court justices ruled that Mr Justice Mitting had erred in law by using dictionary definitions as the starting point of his analysis of the meaning of Ms Stocker’s Facebook comment. The judges also found that the High Court judge had failed properly to take into account the context of the post.

RepealTheGRA · 03/04/2019 13:23

OK thanks nauticant glad it doesn’t ring alarm bells with you. Maybe I’m being overly cynical!

nauticant · 03/04/2019 13:28

I can understand your concern, I just wanted to say that it didn't look like the Supreme Court had introduced some new principle of interpretation into UK law.

ChickenonaMug · 03/04/2019 13:29

This is great news.

Ineedacupofteadesperately · 03/04/2019 13:38

I was really particularly pleased that the newspaper report included this quote from Ms Stocker (who is an amazing woman):

'I think it highlights the danger that the courts are being used by men to continue an abusive process, whether it be in the family courts or through a libel court.'
'If they have got the money to do it, they will. It has been five years of my life that has been hell.'
'The emotional and financial damage that it does is huge.'

MNSDKHheroines · 03/04/2019 13:39

Good news indeed.

misscockerspaniel · 03/04/2019 13:39

This is great news, I am so pleased for her.

More good news below
www.gov.uk/government/news/access-to-compensation-scheme-for-victims-who-lived-with-their-attacker

PerkingFaintly · 03/04/2019 13:42

That's excellent news!

Ineedacupofteadesperately · 03/04/2019 13:43

Abusive men don't like women talking, because it hampers their ability to be abusive to more women.

The fact there were multiple women with a very similar story of abuse was part of the reason Cosby was eventually convicted. It was part of why #metoo was so important - can anyone really say that they seriously think Weinstein was innocent now? Especially when you have women with their own financial means and nothing to gain who spoke out like Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.

It is very concerning that the law courts too often are used by abusive men with money to silence women, this needs sunlight. It also needs courageous women like Ms Stocker being willing to turn their lives upside down even when they've escaped their abuser and to continue to receive abuse through the courts for years. This needs to change.

BernardBlacksWineIcelolly · 03/04/2019 13:47

This is great news, and reassuring that there is sanity in some situations

PerkingFaintly · 03/04/2019 13:49

From the reported comments, it looks like she won on two points.

First, that the previous judge, Mr Justice Mitting, erred in law in using just the dictionary definition.

And secondly, that the things already proven about the husband were enough to establish him as a "dangerous and disreputable man", and therefore it was not a libel to say other things that portrayed him as such (hope I've expressed that correctly).

Kerr added: “It is beyond dispute that Mr Stocker grasped his wife by the throat so tightly as to leave red marks on her neck visible to police officers two hours after the attack on her took place.

“It is not disputed that he breached a non-molestation order. Nor has it been asserted that he did not utter threats to Mrs Stocker. Many would consider these to be sufficient to establish that he was a dangerous and disreputable man, which is the justification which Mrs Stocker sought to establish.

“… Even if all all her allegations were considered not to have been established to the letter, there is more than enough to satisfy the provision in section 5 of the 1952 [Defamation] Act that her defence of justification should not fail by reason only that the truth of every charge is not proved, having regard to the truth of what has been proved.”
www.theguardian.com/law/2019/apr/03/womans-strangle-facebook-post-not-libellous-say-judges

Bluestitch · 03/04/2019 14:14

This is great news! I watched the hearing live and have been looking out for the result. The judges seemed very unimpressed with the arguments from the ex's barrister so I was hopeful this would be the ruling, but very pleased to see it confirmed.

Ereshkigal · 03/04/2019 16:02

Was so pleased to see this earlier.

Carowiththegoodhair · 03/04/2019 16:08

Fantastic news. Well done to all involved. Just chilling. That poor woman has not only had to cope with an abusive man physically harming her, but then attempting to use the law as a form of harassment for punishing her for telling the truth.

Great that the ruling went as it should have done, but outrageous that she had to be put through years of hell.

jay55 · 03/04/2019 16:23

Absolutely ridiculous that this went so far. So glad for the sanity ruling.

truthisarevolutionaryact · 03/04/2019 18:26

Well he's shown everyone precisely who he is - and it's not a good look!

OP posts:
BlackeyedGruesome · 03/04/2019 18:56

Great news

Mumminmum · 03/04/2019 19:42

But the new partner is still with him. What an idiot!

SonicVersusGynaephobia · 03/04/2019 21:38

So pleased to read this.

The Supreme Court looks to be making some very sensible decisions under Lady Hale.