To help end the ‘rough sex’ defence, sign our petition, here, today.
A friend of murder victim Grace Millane has implored the UK parliament to end the ‘rough sex’ defence, ‘so no other victim, family or friend has to endure what we have had to put up with’.
Grace was killed in New Zealand last year by a man who claimed, in his defence in court, that she had consented to being strangled and her death was part of a ‘sex game gone wrong’. A jury unanimously found him guilty, last month, after also hearing he’d left her body to go on another date, before burying her in the Waitakere mountains.
Campaign group, We Can’t Consent To This, says similar ‘consent’ defences are being increasingly used, and they’ve been mentioned in cases involving the murders of 59 women – chillingly, almost half of the time, it has been successful.
Grazia joined WCCTT and MP Harriet Harman in their attempts to bring the Domestic Abuse Bill back to parliament and add amendments to stop the ‘rough sex’ defence – and created a change.org petition to add extra pressure.
I miss the friend who could always put a smile on my face.
Chloe McCombe, a friend of Grace, signed the petition and paid tribute to her in a post on the site, saying, ‘Grace was my best friend. Losing her last year tore apart the lives of her family and friends and then to endure the horrendous three-week trial was devastating. To see the media create click-bait headlines based on Grace's personal life was appalling - it seemed that the entire world could share their opinions on Grace and seemed to blame her for her own death.
‘The defence said that her death was "consensual sex gone wrong", which makes no sense, no person can consent to an act that will result in their murder and to then be disposed with.
'I implore the UK parliament to address this issue so no other victim, family or friend has to endure what we have had to put up with.'
Paying tribute to Grace, from Wickford in Essex, who had just graduated from her University of Lincoln, when she embarked on a six-month round-the-world trip, Chloe added: ‘I miss Grace more than words can say, and since losing her I feel like I've lost part of myself. I miss the friend who could always put a smile on my face, who would always be up for a spontaneous trip to the pub, the friend who always supported me no matter what, the friend who was so full of love, adventure and zest for life who had her future torn away. I miss and love you Grace and nothing will ever be the same without you❤️.’
To help end the ‘rough sex’ defence, sign our petition, here, today.
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READ MORE: The Man Accused Of Killing Grace Millane Has Been Found Guilty