No Means NO !

I do wonder if David Cameron is indulging in that favourite political posture, being, “In favour of good “and, “ against evil”, with his controversial suggestion that we should... “ Do something about the poor level of rape convictions “ .

From the figures it appears he has lifted up a rock. I am not so much impressed that only 5.7 % of reported rapes result in convictions now, as that, in 1977 , the same figures was 33%.I suspect the numbers reported would illuminate these statistics . If only severely aggravated cases ever came to light then the proportion would look healthy even if the underlying reasons were quite the reverse. In any case, if that 33% is composed of allegations that should not come to court, or were not properly proven , then where exactly has the law or its interpretation been changed ? Is the suggestion that it is worth a few innocent men being convicted to keep women safe ? I doubt it, and if we are going to favour the victim ,I would like to see that across the board not merely for, “Hate crimes”, and ,"anti- women crimes”I find the thought of rape appalling as any sane man does but I `m afraid I do not regard the allegation of rape as the same thing as the fact. This is some research done in America ...

Half of all Rape Charges May Be False
. At least 10 percent and perhaps as many as 40 percent of all rape charges are lies. Research results In the Midwest:41% of the total rape cases were recanted by the alleged victim during a 9-year study in a metropolitan Midwestern town. •45 of the 109 complainants admitted that no rape had occurred in period.The incidence figure (from 1978 to 1987) of false rape varied from year to year and ranged from a low of •27% to a high of 70% The alleged rape victims admitted that they had made the false rape charges for three reasons:
• to create an alibi,• to get revenge,• to get attention or sympathy.


It is not a question of assuming the woman is a liar, but of the presumption of innocence, in the absence of proof to the contrary . I will not have any special pleading that crosses that line . No means NO !

Rape is a particular sort of crime as regards proof . It is necessarily private and as the reporting level goes up the extent of complicity in the time place and opportunity are likely to increase making retrospective vision tricky. Date rape and grey area changes of mind en route are going to be in the mix not to say malicious accusation which certainly does happen. The plain truth is that the plain truth will never be known and for an innocent man this is decidedly inconvenient

Jill Seward in the Telegraph today complains that for every grievous assault and ( as she suffered) there are far more drug induced and alcohol blurred rapes of equal seriousness that require a specialist Jury to obtain convictions . No no no no....and again, I mean NO!. Such a specialist Jury would be conviction by political climate and feminist theory. Can you imagine how such ,“Expert Testimony”” would be torn to pieces in Court and rightly so.

So what’s to be done? The Conservative Party quote studies showing that half of young men think its acceptable to force a woman to have sex under some circumstances. Well frankly this is rubbish as is the claim that 1 in 20 has been raped . The rise in reporting is a good thing but the unfashionable truth is this .

The only people that can prevent rape are women .They can do it by being in the company of trusted men , not accepting drinks from strangers and being quite clear about their intentions .The more available , drunk and defenceless they appear the greater the risks they run and this is not condoning rapists any more than asking people to lock up condones burglars . The Conservative Party are suggesting there should be “lessons in consent” for boys at school. I would say any boy who needs that lesson will; never learn it. Such behaviours are not reached so coarsely and will only be changed as we change our society back to the respectful civilised society we once had...don`t get me started .... In the meantime women must be careful.