What to make of this?

[TruthSweet]

Here. Apols for source

Wife says H raped her 6 times (via 999 call)
Retracts so CPS would drop charges (maintains that allegation was true)
CPS want to go ahead any way
Wife retracts completely saying she made it up
Police say they will bring charges against her for false allegations
Wife then says she told the truth the first time - he had raped her but he/his family made her recant
Wife gets jailed for 8 months

How is that justice? It does sound like a mess of a relationship/life but surely there was nothing to be gained by jailing her? And life does get messy, it's not neat and clear cut all the time.

If anything it will put wives/gfs of reporting relationship rapes as if they subsequently recant they could get jailed.

I think that the Judge was pee'd off with the to-ing and fro-ing and might well have jailed her for false retraction rather than the false allegation if it had been proved the H raped her.

[iTigress]

:(

Horrible, horrible. How on earth was this allowed to happen? What happened to the husband?

[sethstarkaddersmum]

There's a thread about this in In The News - here.
I am very pleased to see the line the Telegraphy has taken on this.

[sethstarkaddersmum]

Telegraphy? oops

[TruthSweet]

Dittany - I heartily agree. I don't think even if she had never retracted her statement the H would probably never been prosecuted/convicted.
I wonder what his sentence would have been? A lot less I'd bet.

And sorry for repeating a thread

[sethstarkaddersmum]

(not that it matters, but as it happens your thread was first TruthSweet - it can be a bit random which threads take off and get loads of posts and which don't get noticed.)

[TruthSweet]

Very interesting to read the Tele. article - it put a very different spin on it to the Fail. I was actually really impressed the way the Tele. looked at actual charge the woman was jailed on where as the Fail read as though the woman was charged/jailed for false accusations.

[sethstarkaddersmum]

well the Mail has to have its weekly False Accusation story.

[TruthSweet]

I wonder if they report each case at least three times - once when charged, then when at court, then at verdict so it appears to be 3 separate cases. I'm suspicious.....

[PosieComeHereMyPreciousParker]

Surely her version(s) of the events is symptomatic of being a victim of domestic and sexual violence?

[TruthSweet]

Exactly Posie. If you have been raped repeatedly by your H then find the courage to report him only to be pressured into a retraction - you need help and support NOT jail time! How exactly will that help her? Plus it's now shown her H that he can raped and his wife will get punished if she dares to complain. I really really hope she gets help in prison to break out of the cycle of abuse.

[HerBeatitude]

"Women need to start meting out our own justice to rapists because the courts aren't doing it."

How can we do this?

Can we name and shame rapists on the interweb or something? That would presumably be libel if they are unconvicted, whcih of course, most rapists are?

[darleneconnor]

But they would have to proove it was libel, and how could they do that?

I've often wondered why there isn't such a site.

[HerBeatitude]

I really honestly think we need to do something.

Because there is no justice about rape.

MN has made me acutely aware that I can just be raped at any time and basically, I just have to put up with it.

And I don't want to. I want rapists to know that there might be some repurcussions.

[HerBeatitude]

Yes that's a point.

There's no legal aid for libel and they would have to prove in court that the woman they had raped, had actually consented. How do you prove that a woman consented?

Would it be illegal to set up a site like that?

[darleneconnor]

In theory, no. There would have to be some safeguards in place to prevent malicious use, though. The word 'alleged' may have to be used.

I think it would show some women who think they are the victims of 'one off' attacks are actually victims of serial rapists.

[beansmum]

What safeguards? I can't see how it would possibly work.

Rapists shouldn't be allowed to get away with it, but some women would use a site like that to make completely false allegations.

[darleneconnor]

Would they, really? Or is that just anti-feminist propaganda?

Isn't it just information sharing a la facebook? People tell lies on that...

[beansmum]

I think it sucks that men are allowed to get away with rape, the justice system really needs to change. But some people lie and asking for women to name and shame rapists would get innocent men accused of something they didn't do without any chance to defend themselves. I think that matters.

[beansmum]

Wrong it what way? Wrong that people would lie, or wrong in thinking that it matters?