Violence against women on UK trains is increasing – no wonder, when courts often seem more concerned about the ‘impact’ on perpetrators than their victims

[Omlettes]

"The magistrate ruled “not guilty”. In summing up how he reached his decision, he explained that to be found guilty would have a huge impact on the man’s life, and while he was sure I intended to be reliable, there was a very real possibility that as I was pregnant I was in a heightened emotional state and could not be relied on to give an accurate account."

OMG this makes me furious.
What is wrong with judges in this country and how can they be held to account?
Clearcut blatant in your face Sexism. Its a judge fgs.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/17/bystanders-save-women-sexual-assault-violence

Bloody hell, wtf was that judge thinking? Casting doubt on the victim's testimony is appalling but presumably he also didn't take much notice of the witness either.

The vile subset of men who act like this should have their lives impacted.

Good advice on how to intervene safely.

Wow! Rolled the clock right back a century or two.

Where is it in the middle east that a man's testimony is worth that of two women. We're heading right that way.

Presumably the witness was affected by 'hormonal' imbalance.
Are there no cameras on trains?
But most of all, what does it take to get a Judge struck off, does anyone know?

I am appalled that a judge would say that the impact on the perpetrator influenced a finding of not guilty, it is the opposite of what we expect from our justice system. Guilt or otherwise is expected to be a finding of fact, based on the information available.

These judges need naming and shaming

Good grief. She talks about a magistrate? I'm hoping that this incident was many decades ago?

That is horrific. Clearly all those heartfelt promises to deal with violence and intimidation against women had a sell by date which caused them to expire like out of date Tesco vouchers.

This wasn't a judge-led decision, it was a magistrate, a lay person. Sadly it would be the CPS's decision to appeal the judgement, not the victim's.

The writer was pregnant. I don't know exactly when she had children, but a very quick skim of previous articles shows that 7 years ago she had none.

So not, decades ago.

Sadly the victims of all sorts of crimes don't get the level of justice they deserve. How often do you see a drunk driver let off, or given a suspended sentence, because their job depends on having a driving license?

I agree, but the finding of not guilty is a step further than poor sentencing decisions. He may have been a district judge, hence the confusion in the article and using both magistrate and judge.

Yes thanks, unfortunately I cant edit.

@Omlettes it's quite true that being found not guilty is different but I think it has it's roots in the same thing- a judge/magistrate taking into account the offender's circumstances rather than the victims. No one asks to be the target of sexual offenses /run over/burgled, the person who commits the crime knows what's at stake- they should be punished accordingly

So is this pregnancy discrimination?

Casting doubt on the words of a pregnant woman solely because she is pregnant sounds like it to me

Well yes I totally agree obviously.

Dear Lord, where did they find this magistrate? In the Dark Ages?

How terrifying for Alexandra, and how insulting of the Dark Ages magistrate to be concerned about the perpetrator’s reputation and to put the obvious terror of a heavily pregnant woman at being sexually assaulted down to her hormones. FFS 🤬

How about the perpetrator?

For all the discussion about the Equal Treatment Bench Book on FWR, I missed the part of the ETBB that wholly exempted magistrates and others from treating pregnant women with respect and accepting their testimony.

There's a mechanism for appealing unduly lenient sentences, which be used by those not connected with the case. Is there anything similar for appealing utterly perverse verdicts?

Or getting a magistrate struck off because of one?

I presume that the perpetrator cannot be tried again, as he was found not guilty and double jeopardy will apply.

Well, as the magistrate found them not guilty then they can't be named can they?

Dismissing a pregnant woman for being hormonal and unreliable is one outrageous thing, but there was an effing witness! How the hell does that work?

The Guardian has a letters to the editor on this
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/20/why-dont-women-get-justice-on-sexual-assault

"Reading Alexandra Heminsley’s account of her sexual assault and her attacker’s acquittal, what struck me most is the double standard regarding the role of alcohol in sexual assault. If a woman is sexually assaulted and under the influence of alcohol, it is she who has to accept the consequences of that state, and she is to blame, whereas a man committing a sexual assault under the influence is somehow excused from the responsibility because he is drunk.
Why are woman held to higher standards than men? And, in this case, how dare the judge consider the impact of punishment on the perpetrator and not the impact of the attacker’s acquittal on the victim?"

That is shocking and disgusting. It undermines confidence in our justice system.