Rape cases: ‘Stop being so drunk’

'It's Your Fault' parody video taking on controversial comments by public figures towards rape in India. Courtesy All India Backchod

Women should not get so drunk ... A retired judge says that rape convictions would increase. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

A RECENTLY retired judge said the number of rape convictions will not rise until women "stop getting so drunk".

Judge Mary Jane Mowat said it is an inevitable fact of being "one person's word against another" in rape trials and the burden of proof necessary being that you have to be sure before you convict that sees rape cases fail.

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In the UK, where Judge Mowat retired as a judge at the age of 66 on August 1, the conviction of rape cases that go to trial stands at 60 per cent.

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"I will ... say, and I will be pilloried for saying so, but the rape conviction statistics will not improve until women stop getting so drunk," Judge Mowat told the Oxford Mail.

"I'm not saying it's right to rape a drunken woman, I'm not saying for a moment that it's allowable to take advantage of a drunken woman.

"But a jury in a position where they've got a woman who says 'I was absolutely off my head, I can't really remember what I was doing, I can't remember what I said, I can't remember if I consented or not but I know I wouldn't have done'. I mean when a jury is faced with something like that, how are they supposed to react?"

Alleged rape victim ... a police officer escorts a distressed young woman to an ambulance. Source: News Limited

A Rape Crisis England & Wales spokesperson told The Independent that while Judge Mowat makes clear that it is never "allowable" to rape a "drunken woman", her remarks could still be potentially "very harmful".

"The point that she and other influential people within the criminal justice system should be making clearly and publicly is that the legal responsibility is with the defendant in a rape case to evidence how they sought and received consent," said Katie Russell.

"And if a woman is incapacitated through drink or drugs then she is not capable of giving her consent."

Russell said only an estimated 15 per cent of all rape victims go to the police, often because of feelings of shame and self-blame or for fear of not being believed or taken seriously.

"If we are ever to improve levels of reporting, and levels of criminal justice for sexual violence survivors, we must remain focused on the behaviour and culpability of perpetrators, not victims. One hundred per cent of the responsibility for any act of sexual violence lies with its perpetrator."

Natalie Brook, of Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, said that Judge Mowat's comments on rape were 'an outrageous, misguided and frankly dangerous statement to make".

"Rape convictions will improve when those who perpetrate it, who are disproportionately male, stop raping and when society stops blaming women for somehow being complicit in this act of violence.

'Rape is 100 per cent the fault of the perpetrator."

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