25 signatures reached
To: The Houses of Parliament
Sexual history mustn't be used in rape trials
I want them to make it illegal for a rape victim to have her (or his) sexual history used as evidence during a rape trial.
Why is this important?
Can you imagine being raped? I was assaulted once when I was a teenager. Not raped, but they groped me and threatened me with violence should I continue to fight them. The rage I felt then of being powerless and being subjected to that violation has stayed with me for over 20 years.
Imagine if they had raped me and then when it went to court, the lawyers decided that it was relevant to talk about my sexual history however colourful or not it was. Does that sound right to you? What happened to me was without my consent, I said I didn’t want to be touched. But they did it anyway. Whether or not I’d had sex an hour before, whether or not I’d go on to have a threesome days later, does not change the fact that what happened was wrong. If you’re raped, your sexual history is irrelevant and should never be used as evidence to prove a rape.
There’s a good article in The Guardian which has driven me to start this campaign, (written by a lawyer): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/17/courts-judge-rape-sexual-history-ched-evans-case.
If you agree with this, sign this petition: consent is key in rape trials, sexual history is not.
