TW: sexual assault, Ched Evans, victim-blaming
I pretty much want to smash my computer screen in at the moment. Yesterday, online feminism shared a tiny victory, as ITV were convinced to pull a feature on the ‘Justice for Ched’ campaign – which aims to free a convicted rapist from prison. The group is notorious among feminists as an utterly vile bunch of victim-blamers, led by Evan’s girlfriend. Evan’s survivor has had a year of abuse and bullying, has been illegally named, and is currently believed to have had to change her name and move to escape persecution.
Allow me to present exhibit A:
Screenshot of a Facebook page, where a user (identity blurred out) has posted: “she will get the chance to go out get drunk off her head and drugged up again and dupe some other poor lad into rape its about time ched got released and this poor excuse for a girl got what she deserves at least 5 years for what shes done ! justiceforched utb”
“Dupe some other poor lad into rape”
Dupe… into rape.
Sorry to break this to you dude, but you cannot trick someone into raping you. Rape involves the non-consensual penetration of another human being[1]. You cannot be tricked by someone into doing something to them without their consent – by definition, they would be consenting, by deciding to perform such a ‘trick’ on you[2].
I believe that the injustice you perceive to have happened, is that even though Evans was proved, by the court, to have committed rape[3], he shouldn’t have to worry about something so trivial as consent. That his victim, due to drinking and other ‘slutty’ behaviour, deserved to be penetrated without her consent.
Well next time you, or a friend, are passed out drunk, I’d like you to consider how you would feel to wake up and find you had been penetrated whilst you were unable to consent. Did you deserve it? Or do you simply think that this woman deserved it, because actually, it’s women’s autonomy that you have a problem with?
Thanks to The Gayess for sharing the picture on twitter
For some lighter relief, please do have a look at Eve Vawter’s brilliant, hilarious demolition of a rape apologist.
[1] According to English law
[2] This ‘logic’ is so twisted I’m struggling to keep my thoughts straight!
[3] Something which is vanishingly rare. A snapshot of statistics: 85,000 women and 12,000 men in the UK are estimated to be raped each year. 16,000 are reported to police. 1,070 convictions are made. That’s 1.1% of estimated rapes that end with a conviction.
Cis Is Not A Dirty Word 