On Friday Ched Evans was acquitted of rape. He was found not guilty following a two week re-trial. The verdict divided society into two kinds of people: those who were concerned about the implications of this verdict and the way the trial was conducted and those who felt compelled to celebrate Evans and condemn his accuser in equal measure.
To give you a flavour of the sort of things that those who fell into the latter group think here’s a small selection of their tweets:
The misogynistic gloating and crowing of Evans supporters online is troubling. There’s no question about it. If you had any doubt in your mind about whether or not ‘rape culture’ is a persistent problem, you don’t need to look any further than the Twitter hashtag #chedevans.
Equally, the verdict and trial are equally disconcerting in their own right. In a statement)released on Friday Rachel Krys, co-director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition said:
‘We respect the verdict of the jury who heard the prosecution and defence evidence in full.’
‘We urge all those who comment on this case to remember that many thousands of survivors of rape hear remarks and comments which blame victims all the time. For several years now there has been abuse of the complainant, and of survivors of rape in general, in relation to this case. This has to stop.’
‘We are very concerned at the precedent which might have been set in this case for allowing sexual history of complainants to be admissible evidence. The rules which prevent this are extremely important and are critical in trying to secure justice in rape cases. In addition to this there are reports that the defence offered a “bounty” for such testimony. This is extremely worrying. We will review the case in full and may contact the CPS and the Government about aspects of this case which raise concern.’
Concerns are centering around the fact that the alleged victim’s sexual history was allowed to be admitted to the court as evidence. Former solicitor general Vera Baird QC, who served under Labour in the late 90s, has written in The Guardian about why we should be troubled. There is a fear, she says, that ‘rape trials could become inquisitions into the complainant’s sex life.’
In 1999 Baird played a key role in changing the law to prevent this sort of scenario arising. Section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 intended to provide a rigorous structure to help judges determine when previous sexual history could and could not be admitted in rape cases.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme she further explained the problematic nature of how the evidence was used in this trial under Section 41:
‘The only difference between a clear conviction of Mr Evans in 2012 and the absolute refusal of him having any leave to appeal at that time, and his acquittal now, is that he has called some men to throw discredit on [the woman's] sexual reputation.’
‘That, I think, is pouring prejudice in, which is exactly what used to happen before the law in 1999 stopped the admission of previous sexual history in order to show consent.’
‘We've gone back, I'm afraid, probably about 30 years.’
Yesterday, the lead police officer on sex crimes for England and Wales sought to reassure reassure victims of rape and sexual assault as the potential repercussions of this particular case become clear for those who may be forced to contemplate reporting such a crime in the future.
Speaking to the Guardian Commissioner Martin Hewitt, the National Police Chief’s Council lead for adult sex offences, said ‘I want to assure victims of rape or sexual offences that they can report to us in the knowledge that they will be listened to, treated sensitively and with respect, and that their allegations will be taken seriously.’
At a time when reported rapes in England and Wales are said to have doubled in the last four years while convictions have fallen the Ched Evans case is raising pressing questions about both how the law works when it comes to rape and sexual assault and how we talk about consent within a legal framework.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.