Fuck the Mail, fuck the people who read it
I know that if I go anywhere near the Daily Mail website I will be struck with an attack of rage, but when I read about the reaction to a recent article on rape in the Guardian, I had to check it out for myself to see if they were exaggerating. And they really weren't.
The article covers the "contraversial" ruling that marital rape is to be treated as in the same way as gang rape, and receive the same sentence. "According to the Sentencing Guidelines Council - the body headed by Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips," explains the paper, " their crime is more serious than a typical case of rape by a stranger and should get more serious punishment." In my opinion, this is absolutely right. Rape within a committed relationship is every bit as abusive as stranger rape - arguably more so if you consider that the rapist is in a position of trust and that this kind of attack is less likely to be an isolated incident.
The article goes on to point out that: "The new rules look certain to produce deep controversy. Some lawyers and judges are already deeply anxious over the way husbands, boyfriends and men who have sex at the end of a date are taken to court and charged with rape after a complaint by a woman who says she was forced into the act." But this isn't what has enraged me - I'm fully aware that any sort of Mail article on rape (and a lot of other things, come to think of it) is going to make my nose bleed, and I've more or less come to terms with that.
What has is the reader comments at the bottom of the page. There are 31 of them so far and the overwhelming majority are along the lines of "8 years for spousal rape! Another window of oppertunity to be exploited by women seeking revenge on ex or present partners. A concern to any man who has ever upset a woman," or "When women the length of Britain can no longer find a willing partner, they will only have their own gender to blame," and "Best not get married."
It's only a frightening 15 short years since the concept of marital rape was recognised by British law, and it is scary and alarming to realise that there are still some people who haven't yet grasped that rape is wrong, no matter what the circumstances. 'No means no' is not a sophisticated argument. The fact that a tiny, tiny percentage of reported rapes end in a conviction is not because most of them are brought by women who have 'cried rape' to pursue a personal agenda. Women do not, as a rule, accuse anyone of rape out of spite. And I am beyond livid that so many people seem to think otherwise.
The article covers the "contraversial" ruling that marital rape is to be treated as in the same way as gang rape, and receive the same sentence. "According to the Sentencing Guidelines Council - the body headed by Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips," explains the paper, " their crime is more serious than a typical case of rape by a stranger and should get more serious punishment." In my opinion, this is absolutely right. Rape within a committed relationship is every bit as abusive as stranger rape - arguably more so if you consider that the rapist is in a position of trust and that this kind of attack is less likely to be an isolated incident.
The article goes on to point out that: "The new rules look certain to produce deep controversy. Some lawyers and judges are already deeply anxious over the way husbands, boyfriends and men who have sex at the end of a date are taken to court and charged with rape after a complaint by a woman who says she was forced into the act." But this isn't what has enraged me - I'm fully aware that any sort of Mail article on rape (and a lot of other things, come to think of it) is going to make my nose bleed, and I've more or less come to terms with that.
What has is the reader comments at the bottom of the page. There are 31 of them so far and the overwhelming majority are along the lines of "8 years for spousal rape! Another window of oppertunity to be exploited by women seeking revenge on ex or present partners. A concern to any man who has ever upset a woman," or "When women the length of Britain can no longer find a willing partner, they will only have their own gender to blame," and "Best not get married."
It's only a frightening 15 short years since the concept of marital rape was recognised by British law, and it is scary and alarming to realise that there are still some people who haven't yet grasped that rape is wrong, no matter what the circumstances. 'No means no' is not a sophisticated argument. The fact that a tiny, tiny percentage of reported rapes end in a conviction is not because most of them are brought by women who have 'cried rape' to pursue a personal agenda. Women do not, as a rule, accuse anyone of rape out of spite. And I am beyond livid that so many people seem to think otherwise.