Drugs: A Licence To Rape
The recent verdict of 'not proven' reached by a jury in the case of Sean Devenney, who committed a string of sexual attacks on young women at a T in the Park event this year used the fact that he was 'on Planet Pluto' as mitigation for his crimes. Note that Devenney nor his defence deny his crimes:
Solicitor Philip Lafferty, defending, admitted: “The facts of this case are essentially proved. I accept the correct person is sitting in the dock because he is the person responsible for carrying out these awful things."
The same old double standards, which are so deeply ingrained throughout all aspects of our culture, still dominate and define ways in which these crimes are defended, despite four decades of feminist activism and challenging rape myths, one being that men are never responsible for actions or acts of violence towards women and girls.
Women continue to be held responsible for the actions of men as can be evidenced with the numerous ill thought out and victim blaming so called anti-rape campaigns that we have been subjected to this season. Women, don't drink, women ensure your sobriety at all times as after all, the onus is on us not to put ourselves in 'vulnerable situations' lest some predatory male, who simply cannot help himself, takes advantage of our inebriated states.
Women continue to be considered guilty of contributory negligence if we experience sexual violence, whether that be that we are drunk, have taken drugs, were out alone at night, had the audacity to leave the house and venture into a public space, wore anything short of a wimple and nun's habit and so on. Yet a man, well he was 'out of his face' so can't be held accountable. Not so 'out of face' though that he was still able to commit various sexual attacks.
I would strongly urge members of that jury as well as everyone on the Planet Earth, not Pluto, to read, digest and absorb the details on the image below, one the best anti-rape campaigns there has ever been, in my view:
Perhaps the festive anti-rape campaigns should be targeting men and telling them not to drink nor take drugs. Just a thought.
My thoughts are with the young women and their families.
Rape Crisis Scotland's excellent site is here: http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/
If you have experienced rape and sexual assault you can contact Rape Crisis England and Wales on: 0808 802 9999 (12 - 2.30pm, 7 - 9.30pm) or Rape Crisis Scotland on: 08088 01 03 02 (every day, 6pm to midnight)
‹ A Rapist Walks Free: Because he was Stoned My complaint to the Metropolitan Police ›
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Given this male sexual predator named Sean Devenney claims he took drugs and so wasn’t responsible for subjecting at least four young women to male sexual violence, then obviously ‘drugs’ should have been on trial not Devenney!!
Ludicrous I know but no more ludicrous than Devenney’s claim an unknown male gave him drugs without his knowledge. Devenney’s mythical male has never been found and if it was a woman claiming ‘unknown male spiked my drink’ she not the unknown male would have been held culpable for allowing (sic) a male to rape her!
But male sexual predators continue to have their lies and denials accepted by juries because the dominant myth continues to be accepted as truth which is males are not sexual predators and whenever a male makes the choice to subject a woman/women to sexual violence he is never culpable or accountable for his actions.
Jury ignored the suffering Devenney inflicted on the young women because whilst Devenney couldn’t claim ‘she wanted it’ he insisted a mythical male had given him drugs without his knowledge or consent.
Hmm wonder why mens’ male supremacist system continues to blame women for provoking/causing innocent men to subject them to rape because the woman’s appearance/behaviour/consuming even one sip of alcohol/accepting a coffee from male and even engaging in commonplace conversation with male defendant supposedly means the female victim is accountable never the male sexual predator.
Scottish government claims they will review the ‘not proven’ issue at a later date! Well done Scottish government because ‘later date’ is meaningless rather Scottish government are telling women ‘don’t bother reporting a male/males has/have subjected you to rape because he will never be convicted. Males must not be held accountable for their choice to subject women to male sexual violence and no drugs in itself did not cause this male to sexually prey on women. Devenney used this as an excuse and it was readily accepted by a jury.
So now men can add the claim ‘drugs caused me to subject that woman/women to sexual violence’ because this is their ‘get out of jail pass.’
Males who commit intimate violence against the female/ex female partner commonly claim ‘I lost control’ or ‘I don’t remember because I suffered temporary memory loss’ and these male excuses continue to be accepted by juries. Women however are always accountable for causing males to subject them to male sexual violence. In fact womens’ existence is sufficient excuse for males to subject them to rape and male sexual violence. If women didn’t exist males wouldn’t rape them! So perhaps males need to be placed on an isolated island so that they are denied innumerable opportunities to commit violence against women and girls.
But that would be just as ludicrous as putting drugs on trial so instead male supremacist legal system continues to accept violent males’ excuses/justifications as rational whereas women’s lived reality of male sexual violence continues to be denied.