Sexism still
part of new rape law
The Times, Law,
Tuesday July 13, 1999, p. 45.
The defence should not be able to question victims on their
sexual history, say Ruth Hall and Lisa Longstaff
|
... We wrote to the unit this year as part of our campaign to end
trawling through the victim's sexual history to discredit her, a key cause
of police not recording a rape and the Crown Prosecution Service not
prosecuting it . The unit said sexual history is sometimes relevant:
"...a defendant might claim that he believed that the complainant was
consenting because he had been told that she always kicked and screamed
during sex. This would be relevant to his honest belief". ... Paul Boateng, Minister of State, said: "The defendant may know of specific instances of past behaviour, which led him to believe that the complainant was consenting to sex... |
The defendant's belief does not need
to be reasonable..."..."We cannot rule out that a child's
previous sexual behavior, which may be non-consensual, may be
relevant to a defence case...(and) will have to be admitted."
He also stated that the Bill should go as it is because the
Government is reviewing sexual offences and the issue of consent
elsewhere. At the Bill's final reading last week no amendment on "belief" was tabled; the use of sexual history evidence has been reinforced; alleged "belief" that the woman consented will be used more often as a pretext for introducing sexual history that otherwise might be ruled irrelevant. |