Sunday’s Sunday Business Post
In the Sunday Business Post, at the weekend, Elaine Byrne wrote about how, at 3am one morning, two men chased her in an attempt to attack her.
Recalling the event, Ms Byrne wrote:
The gardaí came. They said I shouldn’t be out so late and dropped me home.
I never really told anyone about this incident. The narrative would have been predictable. Were you drinking? “No.” Well, you should have known better anyway. You shouldn’t have been out so late. What were you wearing? Somehow, it would have become my fault. I was wrong. What did I expect at that hour of the night? There was no Garda report, no incident recorded for the statistics. Nothing.
Ms Byrne added:
I sat through my friend’s rape trial. I watched her on the stand being cross-examined by a barrister and heard him say the most disgusting line I have ever heard in the English language.
“Your injuries are consistent with the straddling of a gate. Did you straddle a gate?”
Because that’s what women do for fun. We straddle gates.
Why do we ignore Ireland’s rape problem? (Elaine Byrne, Sunday Business Post)
can’t wait for the comments on this one.
We kept a thread on this from politicalworld when I used it
http://www.politicalworld.org/showthread.php?13220-Are-women-getting-an-unfair-deal-from-the-Irish-Justice-system#.V6CjH_krKUk
I imagine they’ll be somewhat on the “Feminazis have taken over the world etc. etc.” that are now so prevalent – truth doesn’t matter, logic doesn matter – it seems ‘de wiimmin’ have totally got above themselves and are no longer demure nor deferential. Something must be done. PS. I must be a ‘mangina’ to have said this……..strewth.
the barrister in the rape trial was doing his job.
i hope you get raped and you’re asked the same question in front of a court room of people. you ignorant p***k
You’re an absolute scumbag.
It’s the solicitors job to stop their client being convicted. That’s what he was trying to do. It may not be savoury, but it’s not meant to be. For you to hurl abuse at someone for pointing that out and to actually tell them you hope they get raped is absolutely disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself. Go find a rape victim and tell them you were hoping someone was raped. Go look at someone you love and imagine them getting raped. Think about how horrific that is and remember that you wished it on someone simply because they pointed out the obvious.
it’s in camera so just a jury etc. note I don’t use insulting language.
You’re a joy unconfined, Fiddeen! Would you suggest that Steve was ‘asking for it’?
Is misogynistic commentary part of a barristers role?
I know a few builders who could give him a run for his money,….
#StraddleGategate
It’s not really misogynistic. It’s an horrific way to try and create doubt in a jury, but it could easily be said to a man who was raped, if the injuries could be claimed to have been similar to straddling a gate.
He was probably trying to insinuate that she’s a whore into all sorts… and eh the instances of men being raped would be low compared to women.
He “probably”? Or you could take what he actually says, which is something that can apply to men or women.
Sure couldnt he just say then “she was asking for it”…I mean all he is doing is trying to create doubt in a jury. #smashintegrity
He’s also trying to win them over. “She was asking for it” is obviously not going to make too many people happy. Giving an alternative cause to wounds received is more believable and fairly standard practice.
the fact that instances of women raping men are relatively low doesn’t matter to the reality of the rape nor to the emotional wreckage of the man who was victimized. it’s a power thing, no matter who does it to whom.
If you consider the barrister for a second,
If he believes the defendant is innocent he will do everything in his power to get him off.
If he believes the defendant is guilty he will make sure he covers everything to make sure the scumbag cannot appeal. Either way it falls down to the Jury to decide who is guilty and who is innocent.
Another version, from experience:
“Mugged at 3am and your bike and bag taken? What were you doing cycling home at that time?”
“Cycling home from a shift in (X employment).”
“Ah, right so.”
No offer of a lift home or any such nonsense. Squad cars lined up outside the garda station as I set out to walk home.
What good is a squad car with no driver? Thanks to litigation, the few guards that are working are scared shitless to give anyone a lift lest they leave themselves open to false accusations, hear-say or in the event of a collision disciplinary proceedings and job loss.
If in doubt, blame the guards. The heavily under-staffed, over-worked, under-resourced, over-scrutinised guards.
I don’t know how they do the work they do in the face of such contempt from all angles.
But…but…corrupt! Don’t you get how this works, Jimmy?
While many guards are overworked, underpaid and unappreciated, some of them are also corrupt. It’s not that complicated.
Personal on duty cameras, never heard them strike over the lack of those, yet they’d clear up all those potential pratfalls you mention.
Fail to see how body cams would prevent a car accident leaving the passenger open to suing the state and two guards being sacked.
So asking someone why they were out cycling at 3am and denying them a lift home (seemingly from outside the garda station since the cars were ‘lined up’) is corruption now? Serious over-scrutinisation at work there.
Why are you so worked up about this.
Leave Jimmy Ireland alone…
Some Gardaí are law-abiding citizens. Law of averages… there has to be at least one or two.
Jay-zus.
ugh every day men walk free on rape charges just because there is no evidence other than the word of the victim it’s unbelievable in this day and age the system is broken.
Thats what should happen. Its like you think No Evidence means guilty. Saying that id personally like the job of “rehabilitating” the scum who have raped.
And what about the men who are convicted of rape and then are given suspended sentences? Or a fine, because other than physically torturing someone they have “contributed to society”?
I recall that case the Elaine refers to – about 12 years ago. It was simply awful and the defendant was cleared of all charges.
Every body is agreed rapist scum should be dealt with and harshly dealt with. But I can’t stand this “oh he just got off, but he’s probably a rapist”.
I didn’t say he was guilty but merely that the details of the case were awful.
Girls should be taught these sort of moves in school –
https://www.facebook.com/ufcmmafights/videos/488220611368477/
Although I don’t know what chance you’d have with two after you.. awful stuff.
Did that scumbag who was on the news a few times recently who raped an elderly woman get a custodial sentence? That fupper deserves to never see the light of day..
He did.. 13 years.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/criminal-court/man-jailed-for-13-years-for-rape-of-women-73-in-her-kerry-home-1.2734260
That should be the minimum any of those scumbags get. It’s not just devastating if you’re elderly.. but 73 years of age she was though. The scumbag is 26.
In mitigation, Mr Justice McCarthy said he was considering Hussey’s “otherwise good character”
Otherwise good character? Besides raping grannies, he’s probably a grand lad..
To shooting victim – your injuries are consistent with you poking a lead object in your abdomen at speed – did you fall on a lead object?
To stabbing victim – did you fall on the knife multiple times?
To kidnap victim – did you tie yourself up and lock yourself in the boot of a car which was driven to the mountains?
Preposterous.
Rape victims are expected to prove that they didn’t provoke some red blooded bloke to action.
Unfortunately, rape is almost unique amongst crimes where consent is an issue and there are rarely any witnesses. Its quite easy to muddy the water and provide reasonable doubt. I can understand why there are so few rape convictions and changing that won’t be easy.
I literally stood up and applauded when I read this and anyone trying to say that this is the epitome of a false equivalence needs to be banned for misogynistic hate speech we need tougher hate speech laws to deal with people questioning rape culture.
I think you just used the magic phrase there, Jimmy, so prepare for a ban!
yes and yes and yes. well said.
Agreed.
– I usually steer clear of very serious topics, but ‘Yes, yes and yes and yes’.
In this age of rhoypnol and some kids inability to differentiate between ‘On-line Porn’ and real life we need new laws and stronger sentences.
We need a strong deterrent.
We haven’t got one.
Here’s a deterrent: a society that accepts women are human beings whose lives and experiences are as real and as relevant as men’s, and who do not exist purely to provide a screen/’other’/mirror against which male subjectivity is measured, created, or understood.
Rape, like the petty street harassment and assault we all deal with, isn’t an expression of lust but of hatred: women have so little power, traditionally, relative to men, but we do, under the current gender dispensation, have one form of power, or are seen to – sexual veto. We can refuse sex to men and humiliate them. This is what we are being punished for when violence is done to us and we are then blamed for said violence for daring to have a source of power, i.e. sexual attractiveness.
This is why we have to tip-toe around ‘asking’ for feminist concessions to us, lest we get called ‘misandrists’ for daring to have any power at all.
I’m not saying such a society would be easy to form.
Nothing good happens after midnight.
That pretty much sums up Liverpool’s pre season tour.