The government has promised that a review into banning the rough sex defence will take place in time for its findings to be included in law. In the second reading of the Domestic Abuse Bill in the House of Commons today, Rt Hon Robert Buckland MP, The Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice, said the review that the government has promised will be concluded by the report stage of the bill’s journey.
Harriet Harman MP and Mark Garnier MP have tabled an amendment that would aim to see the defence – whereby men claim death or assault came about because of a ‘sex game gone wrong’ – banned. Alongside campaigners We Can’t Consent To This (WCCTT), Grazia has been backing that amendment – asking people to contact their MPs and sign this petition in its favour.
During the 2019 election campaign, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised Grazia readers he would review this law and support the amendment. On the bill’s first reading, the government announced they would launch a review into the law around the ‘rough sex’ defence.
Speaking directly to Mr Buckland in an impassioned speech, Ms Harman today said of the review: ‘You are the man with the power here, you are the government minister, this is your bill. Be the man who listens to what women are saying about this. Don’t be the man who knows better than us. Listen to what we are saying and make the change we are asking for.’
During her speech, by videolink, Ms Harman said the defence means a man ‘literally gets away with murder', adding: ‘This is a double injustice.’
When men employ the ‘rough sex’ defence, it means the sex life of the victim can be used as evidence in front of a court, and Ms Harman said it means, ‘He kills her – and then he defines her,’ adding: ‘If it’s his hands around her neck strangling her, it it’s his hands that are pushing the objects up inside her, that’s not a sex game gone wrong, that’s murder.’
Mark Garnier spoke strongly about the amendment, talking about the murder of his constituent Natalie Connolly, saying she was subject to ‘post-mortem abuse’ during the trial into her death. He said: ‘It is appalling this happened. If you are a rape victim, you are offered anonymity during the course of that trial. The fact that Natalie was dead shouldn’t mean she should have this post-mortem abuse.’
MP Laura Farris also spoke about the Natalie Connolly case, saying the defence means ‘extreme violence is given a veneer of complicity through the sexual element. The victim has no voice.’ She also spoke about the rise on non-consensual choking.
MP Tracey Brabin backed changes to the law to make ‘rough sex’ defences impossible. She said: ‘I believe men who use this claim do so because they see it working – we must do all we can to end this horrific travesty.
Jess Phillips MP also backed the amendment, in a wide-ranging speech, saying, ‘I have heard some of the worst cases and it never stops being alarming.’
Speaking at the beginning of the debate, Mr Buckland assured parliament the review into the ‘rough sex’ defence would go ahead. He said: ‘It’s absolutely right that we reinforce current case law that a person cannot consent to violence that leads to serious injury or death.
‘There is no such thing as a rough sex defence. We are looking at how best to address it, it’s a complex area of criminal law and we need to make sure any statutory provisions have the desired effect, we don’t want to create loop holes or uncertainty.’
The ‘rough sex’ defence, (or so-called 50 Shades Defence) came to worldwide prominence around the murder of Grace Millane. Her killer claimed her death, in 2018, had occurred as part of a sex game gone wrong. A jury totally rejected his claims and he was sentenced earlier this year for murder.
But, WCCTT have collected data (that was not being recorded previously) that proves that this defence is being used increasingly – and is working.
‘Pre-existing case law (R v Brown) makes it clear that a person cannot consent to injury or death during sex,’ says the group. ‘However, in 45% of cases where a man kills a woman during sex and claims she consented to it, this defence works. This results in the killing being prosecuted under a lesser charge – such as manslaughter – or even not treated as a crime at all.
‘In the five years from 2014, 20 women and girls have been killed in what the perpetrators defended as consensual sexual violence. Of the 20 women killed, only nine men were convicted of murder, nine were convicted of manslaughter, and one case resulted in no conviction.’
YOU SIGN THE PETITION HERE. YOU CAN EMAIL YOUR MP HERE.