Insight: #MeToo is a wake-up call to the legal system

It is now a year since the allegations against Harvey Weinstein hit the headlines. The revelations by Hollywood celebrities lit the bushfire of the Me Too movement, and around the world women from all walks of life, who had often remained silent for years about their experiences of rape, sexual misconduct, harassment and other indignities, gave vent to their pent up pain and anger.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Oct 2018, 21:33 BST
Updated 20th Oct 2018, 22:42 BST
Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws is chair of JUSTICE. Picture: Phil WilkinsonBaroness Kennedy of the Shaws is chair of JUSTICE. Picture: Phil Wilkinson
Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws is chair of JUSTICE. Picture: Phil Wilkinson

This was a brick being thrown through the windows of the justice systems everywhere. It was a form of civil disobedience – the naming and shaming of abusers instead of using the normal legal processes. It was their way of saying that the system had failed them because they had no faith in receiving justice from law enforcement agencies, the courts or the state institutions. Why had it taken so long for women to be heard? To engage in a penetrative sexual act with someone without their consent is rape. It sounds so simple. Yet it is the most debated crime of all and the one that provides the greatest challenge to the criminal courts. The statistics still shock; a crime of alarming prevalence, it seems to defy the ordinary trial processes and conviction rates are lower than in other areas of offending. It can also still incite furious discord around dinner tables.

While nowadays rape is no longer defined in a gender specific way, it is still a crime that is most often perpetrated by men on women. At gatherings, men express puzzlement at why others of their gender would force themselves on an unwilling sexual partner. Misogyny, opportunism, a sense of entitlement, a taking of something that would otherwise be forbidden, a way of punishing or humiliating or staking a claim, a sense of ownership, a power play, a fury at rejection? Multiple motivations are offered. Why would anyone be so deaf to another’s No? Why want sex that is not about mutuality and reciprocity? Where is the pleasure in stealing sex from someone who is blind drunk?

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