This Is The Real Meaning Of #IBelieveHer For Young Irish Women

I was unsurprised by the result of the trial of Paddy Jackson, Stuart Olding, Rory Harrison and Blane McIllroy. After a nine-week case at Belfast Crown Court, a jury took just three hours and 45 minutes to acquit Irish rugby stars Jackson and Olding of rape, while the other two men were cleared charges including exposure and perverting the course of justice.

There had been talk of organising a demonstration the day after the result regardless of what happened, though we all expected the verdicts to return as 'not guilty'. We knew that in most trials the 'he said/she said' evidence is one factor that puts juries off of convicting rapists, but that 'he said/he said/and he said' against 'she said' was even more unlikely to return a guilty verdict.

Hundreds of us came out to protest in Belfast on a Thursday lunchtime - and thousands more across Ireland - because we are angry on her behalf.

When we say 'I believe her', we aren't saying that the jury is wrong. We are saying that the system is wrong. How different would the case be if we were to follow Iceland's legal guidelines that consent must be proven? Or even if we had Scotland's 'not proven' rule, in which juries can indicate that the evidence might not be there to convict a rapist, but that they aren't sure they aren't guilty?

The resulting punishment might be much be the same, but given the horrific cross-examination survivors go through - in this case, her underwear being held up on display mid-trial - at least the token would mean something.

Our anger has intensified, as both Jackson and Olding's solicitors have threatened legal action against people sharing #Ibelieveher on social media. This has caused more and more people to tweet support as well as #suemePaddy.

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I also went to the rally because I believe that the system needs changed. I don't think focusing on the one trial will help us improve the situation but it does highlight the key issues that need to be addressed: sex education that includes consent and a criminal justice system that doesn't focus on the victim proving they are telling the truth.

Frank O'Donoghue, Stuart Olding's barrister, was allowed to ask: 'Why didn't she scream? A lot of middle class girls were downstairs, they were not going to tolerate a rape or anything like that. Why didn't she scream the house down?'

I will not get drawn into the classism of that statement (would working class girls have thought that was okay? No), but this is just one example of the standard of comment made by the defence lawyers in the court room while the witness was present and was repeated in the media.

Dr Eithne Dowds is a law lecturer at Queen's University Belfast. She is writing a book on consent due out May 2019 and highlighted some pretty key lessons we can all draw from this case.

'It is imperative that moving forward we do not allow the fact that there was an acquittal to deflect from the wider misogyny, rape myths and stereotypes that were prevalent during the course of this trial, both inside and outside of the courtroom,' she said.

She added that more work needed to be done to ensure that 'inappropriate and irrelevant questioning such as why didn't she scream' is wiped out from rape trials in the future.

This is the feeling of a lot of people who came to the protest including, Clare Bailey, MLA for South Belfast, who spoke at the rally after the verdict.

'What this case outlined for many of us was that the criminal justice system is not fit for purpose when it comes to dealing with sexual crimes,' she told me. 'Victims are re-traumatised and are treated like they are on trial. The system is designed to defend the rights of the accused with little regard for the victim.'

Caitlin, 25, from Derry, was unhappy but unsurprised at the verdict. She said: 'I'm extremely saddened that we've ended up with another not guilty verdict. It really proves that victims of sexual assault are treated as liars until proven truthful.'

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Jill, 22, a medical student from Belfast, said similar: 'I've kept mostly quiet on social media because honestly since the verdict I've felt sad and hopeless.'

Since the trial there have been several petitions to Ulster Rugby and Ireland Rugby Football Union urging clubs not to reinstate the players. The former school of three of the players, Methodist College Belfast, has also been petitioned to re-evaluate its sex education program.

Rachel, 23, is an MA student from Belfast who attended that same school as the rugby players.

'I can say for certain that there is a seriously dangerous mentality prevalent in teenage boys regarding treatment of women,' she said. 'Those on the rugby team seemed to me as though they were treated like royalty, and for young men, this inflation of ego can have potentially dangerous consequences.'

Following this trial the Irish government have launched reviews into how rape trials treat victims and into the quality of sex education taught in schools. In Northern Ireland we are at a stasis, where we don't have direct rule for Westminster to make changes, but we don't have a functioning Assembly to make changes either.

The UN have said that there is a 'state neglect' with regards to sex education in the latest report from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). When this report came out at the end of February, it highlighted that Westminster still has jurisdiction in Northern Ireland and can't brush off criticisms of its lack of action on devolution.

'There are a raft of changes to rape trials that could be implemented immediately if we had a justice minister, which we do not,' South Belfast MLA Bailey said. 'In the absence of a government we need to look to Westminster.'

Jane, 22, was someone else I met at the rally. She told me she went to the German police after she was attacked. They eventually concluded that the act was non-consensual but no crime had been committed. Until 2016, German law did not recognize rape unless the victim had fought back.

'Hearing details from the case, like how the blood-stained underwear of the victim was passed around the courtroom, reminded me of removing my underwear in the hospital toilets in central Berlin at 11pm to give to the detectives, and walking around the hospital feeling completely without dignity and respect, without any underwear on,' she said. 'This made me think of all the women who have undertaken this small gesture in the hope of gaining some form of justice.'

The German system failed Jane, but they have since updated their laws. In Northern Ireland, we need to re-examine how we prosecute rape cases.

The trial has been a catalyst for many to start examining what changes can be made, however we remain in while Westminster continues to turn a blind eye.

Until action is taken, we will continue to take to the streets and social media to let our Irish sisters who have been hurt know that they are not alone.

Follow Emma on Twitter @emoower

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.