• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
Yorkshire Bylines
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home Affairs
    • Transport
    • World
    Prime minister PMQ prep

    Brexit isn’t working – something we can all agree on

    The small number of trees shows that even the high uplands of the Dales was a woodland environment. Much has been nibbled down to the ground by heavy populations of sheep. Photo by Andy Brown

    Government policies destroying upland Yorkshire farming with no regard for the land or our health

    schools bill

    Johnson’s education power grab: from ‘liberation’ to dictatorship in one generation

    Emmanuel Macron

    French parliamentary elections 2022: shockwaves across the Channel

    Rail strikes

    Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

    cost of living march london

    Trade union movement marches to demand better

    European Union

    After the seismic shocks of Brexit and Covid, what next for the European Union?

    Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

    What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

    Refugee Week

    Refugee week: a chance to celebrate refugees

    Trending Tags

    • Johnson
    • Coronavirus
    • Labour
    • Starmer
    • NI Protocol
    • Brexit
    • Culture
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Home Affairs
    • Transport
    • World
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Culture
    • Dance
    • Food
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Recipes
    • Sport
    Nostell Priory, Wakefield

    Glastonbury? What’s Glastonbury? When the music world came to Wakefield

    Headingley Cricket Stadium

    A view from the Roses match: is everything ‘rosey’ in English cricket?

    Bettys' Fat Rascals

    Scallywags, scoundrels and rascals abound in Yorkshire (we do like our scones)

    'Woke' beliefs

    Woke and proud: Compassion must never be allowed to go out of fashion

    Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

    What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

    Red Ladder

    Climbing the Red Ladder – bringing theatre to the community

    Kaiser Chiefs in Doncaster

    Kaiser Chiefs never miss a beat in Doncaster

    Bradford Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, second from right, is joined by Keighley Creative representatives, from left, Georgina Webster, Jan Smithies and Gemma Hobbs.

    Bradford announced as City of Culture 2025

    Queen cakes fit for a Queen

    Queen Cakes fit for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

    • Food
    • Music
    • Poetry
    • Sport
  • Business
    • All
    • Economy
    • Technology
    • Trade
    Freya Osment from Northern Gas Networks

    International Women in Engineering Day 2022

    Rail strikes

    Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

    conservative party

    The Conservative Party: fiscally irresponsible and ideologically incapable of addressing the current crises

    Yorkshire cows

    British farmers are being offered a lump sum payment to leave the industry – but at what cost to agriculture?

    cost-of-living-crisis-in-voluntary-sector

    Cost-of-living crisis looming for the voluntary sector

    Money on the floor - £20 notes

    The huge cost of Brexit is being seriously understated

    Financial problems

    Surge in bad debt and late payments indicate mounting business distress in Yorkshire

    An evening photo tour of Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire, with excellent light towards sunset.

    Winter blackouts and rationing for six million homes as government plans for disruption to energy supply

    Jar with money cascading out of it

    Boosterism doesn’t put food on the table

    Trending Tags

      • Economy
      • Technology
      • Trade
    • Region
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • News
      • All
      • Brexit
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Health
      • Home Affairs
      • Transport
      • World
      Prime minister PMQ prep

      Brexit isn’t working – something we can all agree on

      The small number of trees shows that even the high uplands of the Dales was a woodland environment. Much has been nibbled down to the ground by heavy populations of sheep. Photo by Andy Brown

      Government policies destroying upland Yorkshire farming with no regard for the land or our health

      schools bill

      Johnson’s education power grab: from ‘liberation’ to dictatorship in one generation

      Emmanuel Macron

      French parliamentary elections 2022: shockwaves across the Channel

      Rail strikes

      Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

      cost of living march london

      Trade union movement marches to demand better

      European Union

      After the seismic shocks of Brexit and Covid, what next for the European Union?

      Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

      What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

      Refugee Week

      Refugee week: a chance to celebrate refugees

      Trending Tags

      • Johnson
      • Coronavirus
      • Labour
      • Starmer
      • NI Protocol
      • Brexit
      • Culture
      • Education
      • Environment
      • Home Affairs
      • Transport
      • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Lifestyle
      • All
      • Culture
      • Dance
      • Food
      • Music
      • Poetry
      • Recipes
      • Sport
      Nostell Priory, Wakefield

      Glastonbury? What’s Glastonbury? When the music world came to Wakefield

      Headingley Cricket Stadium

      A view from the Roses match: is everything ‘rosey’ in English cricket?

      Bettys' Fat Rascals

      Scallywags, scoundrels and rascals abound in Yorkshire (we do like our scones)

      'Woke' beliefs

      Woke and proud: Compassion must never be allowed to go out of fashion

      Eurovision 2022 stage - photo by Michael Doherty on Wikimedia Commons licensed by CC BY-SA 4.0

      What does Ukraine’s Eurovision win tell us about the politics of solidarity?

      Red Ladder

      Climbing the Red Ladder – bringing theatre to the community

      Kaiser Chiefs in Doncaster

      Kaiser Chiefs never miss a beat in Doncaster

      Bradford Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, second from right, is joined by Keighley Creative representatives, from left, Georgina Webster, Jan Smithies and Gemma Hobbs.

      Bradford announced as City of Culture 2025

      Queen cakes fit for a Queen

      Queen Cakes fit for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

      • Food
      • Music
      • Poetry
      • Sport
    • Business
      • All
      • Economy
      • Technology
      • Trade
      Freya Osment from Northern Gas Networks

      International Women in Engineering Day 2022

      Rail strikes

      Millions affected by biggest rail strike action in 30 years

      conservative party

      The Conservative Party: fiscally irresponsible and ideologically incapable of addressing the current crises

      Yorkshire cows

      British farmers are being offered a lump sum payment to leave the industry – but at what cost to agriculture?

      cost-of-living-crisis-in-voluntary-sector

      Cost-of-living crisis looming for the voluntary sector

      Money on the floor - £20 notes

      The huge cost of Brexit is being seriously understated

      Financial problems

      Surge in bad debt and late payments indicate mounting business distress in Yorkshire

      An evening photo tour of Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire, with excellent light towards sunset.

      Winter blackouts and rationing for six million homes as government plans for disruption to energy supply

      Jar with money cascading out of it

      Boosterism doesn’t put food on the table

      Trending Tags

        • Economy
        • Technology
        • Trade
      • Region
      No Result
      View All Result
      Yorkshire Bylines
      No Result
      View All Result
      Home News Home Affairs

      Let’s stop victim blaming

      Sarah Everard’s murder has shown us it is time for change and that people, especially those in authority, should stop victim blaming.

      Amanda RobinsonbyAmanda Robinson
      28-10-2021 11:24
      in Home Affairs, Opinion
      Photo of rally with sign saying "stop blaming the victim" by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

      Photo of rally with sign saying "stop blaming the victim" by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash

      199
      VIEWS
      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
      ADVERTISEMENT

      Sarah Everard’s murder has shown us it is time for change and that people, especially those in authority, should stop victim blaming.

      Wayne Couzens – a serving police officer who was allegedly nicknamed ‘the rapist’ and will keep some of his pension rights – abused his position, then raped and murdered 33 year old Sarah Everard while she was walking home from her friend’s house. He took her dignity and her life. It is time that we ensure his type no longer get to exert their power over women.

      This is not an isolated incident

      This was a police officer who had numerous complaints against him, including complaints for sexual offences, yet continued to be part of the Met police force. He used his warrant card and handcuffs to abduct Sarah. The situation is not an isolated one.

      Despite calls for Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign, she has not done so and neither has Priti Patel. Two women who have the power to make a difference in the lives of millions of women neglect to do so. Instead, there was a flurry of excuses and victim blaming:

      Philip Allott, North Yorkshire’s police, fire and crime commissioner, drew widespread fury after claiming women must be “streetwise” about when they “can and can’t be arrested”. He finally stepped down from his position on 14 October.

      London’s Metropolitan Police has issued advice to women approached by lone police officers in the wake of Sarah’s murder, including telling them to run “into a house”, “wave down a bus” or call the police on 999 if they do not believe the officer is “who they say they are” after questioning them.

      It seems like those in powerful positions decided to reverse time by a few decades – placing an expectation on women to change their behaviour to avoid rapists and murderers.

      Victim blaming

      Apart from the shambolic ignorance of the psychology of the rapist or murderer, women (or any victim for that matter) are not the problem. Men who rape and/or murder are the problem and that is the message we should remember.

      It is they who should curtail their behaviour, who should hide away and restrict what they do. Our freedoms and lives are not for the establishment to curtail in order for them to avoid doing their jobs correctly, or avoid dealing with those they work with who portray behaviours which are misogynistic, abusive, violent, or sexualised.

      The easiest way to explain this is to give you examples of what people say:

      • Look at what she’s wearing
      • Look at the make up
      • She was asking for it
      • Couldn’t she have…
      • She didn’t fight back
      • She was friends with him
      • She dated him
      • They were married
      • She went out alone
      • She was out late
      • She was drunk
      • She didn’t say no
      • She sent mixed messages
      • She wasn’t a virgin
      • She is a slut
      • He didn’t realise she didn’t want him
      • He thought she meant yes when she said no
      • He was smitten with her
      • Men can’t help themselves
      • He was only young /inexperienced
      • She’s ruining his life with these allegations
      • He has sexual urges that have to be filled
      Racism misogyny
      Politics

      Uncomfortable truths: racism and misogyny

      byAmy Holdsworth
      20 March 2021

      Women should not need to adjust their behaviour

      These are all statements that I have personally heard about or heard said to rape victims. You may be surprised, but both men and women victim-blame. It is time to point the finger at the right people: men who rape.

      The amount of people who have told me – in response to finding out I train for marathons in the early hours of the morning, running with music in my ears – that they would not dare run in the dark or early morning and wouldn’t wear their earphones for fear of attack – is shocking.

      Charlotte Purdue, the thirdfastest British woman in history, spoke about this after finishing the London marathon this year, saying, “Even now I wouldn’t run outside alone. I’ve never felt safe doing it. It is sad”.

      What’s more shocking is the amount of women who have been sexually assaulted and raped, and how many do not report it (only around 15 percent report sexual violence). We live in a country where misogyny has power over every minute of women’s lives.

      How can things change?

      A simple change we can all adopt (including men) is to challenge behaviour, so that there is a clear message that any level of unwanted sexual conduct is not acceptable. Behaviour that should not be tolerated, for example in the workplace or education facilities:

      • Shouting / whistling at women when they pass
      • Commenting on women’s bodies or dress (unless they ask you to)
      • Following women
      • Rubbing up against women
      • Touching women (unless invited)
      • Telling women they want you/’it’ when they have not asked you specifically for either
      • Forcing yourself on women

      Workplaces and education facilities need to adopt a zero-tolerance policy, because the more society rejects the nuances of sexism and sexual misconduct, the more we show that we will not tolerate the abuse of women. But for greater change, we need police we can trust, empowered by a government we can rely upon.

      The prime minister said he wanted to have “more successful prosecutions for rape and for sexual violence” and that “too many women are spending too long” waiting for their cases to come to court. Yet Johnson has also agreed with the Met about women needing to flag down buses if they feel threatened.

      Perhaps someone needs to remind the prime minister that the Conservatives have been in power for over ten years. It is the Conservative government that has cut the number of police staff and increased the length of time victims wait for closure on cases.

      In 2020, YouGov reported that, “fewer than half of Brits are confident that the police would catch their assaulters (48%), rapists (46%) or stalkers (33%)”. The BBC reported that, “in the year to March 2020, fewer than two per cent of rape cases recorded by police resulted in a suspect being charged or receiving a summons”. While this continues, victims are being victimised by a system that constantly lets them down.

      CHIS Is a Threat To Rule Of Law

      Tough action needed

      In 2020, only 1.6 percent of rape cases resulted in charge or summons. For the record, less than approximately 4 percent are malicious allegations, which means that plenty of men rape and never face the consequences. Meanwhile, their victims never forget and some never recover.

      By now the Met could have reviewed its recruitment policies and introduced a test and/or means of auditing existing officers and confirmed that they will start to take allegations against serving officers seriously. Every police officer in the UK should be re-vetted following the sentencing of Couzens, a former senior Metropolitan Police chief superintendent has said.

      Permitting the police to use extended powers at this time is not only inappropriate, it is a recipe for disaster; one that could cost more innocent lives. Papering over the cracks by ignoring them or deflecting by victim blaming, presumably in the hope that the herd will follow that terrible example, won’t work. Neither should we accept it. Public funds pay for the government and the police, and it is time that both serve the public, not harm them.

      At the moment, Gov.uk advises victims of rape or assault to:

      • Keep the clothes you were wearing and don’t wash them – the police may need them as evidence for the investigation
      • Try not to shower as there may be evidence which the police can use.

      There are also details of referral for medical examination.

      A specialist agency may be the answer; one which has the powers of the police without the stigma or pressure, and where staff have highly specialised training in victim support. Victims could officially report to the agency, have a medical examination (if they consent) – which is similar to the role SARCs play at present – and a witness statement could be taken while evidence is at its most contemporaneous, which would prevent the risk of a victim having to give a statement later.


      If you have been a victim of sexual assault, there are several different services which offer help for you to deal with this.

      Tags: CrimeEquality
      ADVERTISEMENT
      Previous Post

      Sewage Britain: green Brexit flushed away

      Next Post

      Sunak bids farewell to Singapore on Thames

      Amanda Robinson

      Amanda Robinson

      Amanda is a barrister and accredited mediator at the Great Russell Street Chambers in London. She is a member of Clerksroom Barristers and Mediators and is the author of Brexit A2Z: Facts Not Fiction.

      Related Posts

      labour party conference
      Opinion

      Labour’s precarious tightrope walk to the general election 

      byJohn Heywood
      22 June 2022
      Refugee Week
      Home Affairs

      Refugee week: a chance to celebrate refugees

      byAli Ghaderi
      20 June 2022
      cost-of-living-crisis-in-voluntary-sector
      Economy

      Cost-of-living crisis looming for the voluntary sector

      byJohn Heywood
      16 June 2022
      Lady Liberty Priti Patel and her Rwanda plan halted by ECHR
      Home Affairs

      European Court of Human Rights steps in to stop UK sending asylum seeker to Rwanda

      byJohn Heywood
      15 June 2022
      food strategy
      Home Affairs

      Government’s food strategy heralds a cold and hungry winter for many

      byAndy Brown
      14 June 2022
      Next Post
      Picture of Singapore (goodbye Singapore on Thames)

      Sunak bids farewell to Singapore on Thames

      Want to support us?

      Can you help Yorkshire Bylines to grow and become more sustainable with a regular donation, no matter how small?  

      DONATE

      Sign up to our newsletter

      If you would like to receive the Yorkshire Bylines regular newsletter, straight talking direct to your inbox, click the button below.

      NEWSLETTER

      LATEST

      boris johnson clown poster

      Johnson, Nixon and dangerous duplicity: half a century of ‘gate’ scandals

      28 June 2022
      Prime minister PMQ prep

      Brexit isn’t working – something we can all agree on

      28 June 2022
      The small number of trees shows that even the high uplands of the Dales was a woodland environment. Much has been nibbled down to the ground by heavy populations of sheep. Photo by Andy Brown

      Government policies destroying upland Yorkshire farming with no regard for the land or our health

      27 June 2022
      schools bill

      Johnson’s education power grab: from ‘liberation’ to dictatorship in one generation

      27 June 2022

      MOST READ

      schools bill

      Johnson’s education power grab: from ‘liberation’ to dictatorship in one generation

      27 June 2022
      Prime minister PMQ prep

      Brexit isn’t working – something we can all agree on

      28 June 2022
      10/05/2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the House of Commons. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

      The country needs more than just ‘Booting Boris out of Downing Street’

      26 June 2022
      Conservative Party Meeting

      Hypocrisy, desperation and excuses: Conservative Party clutch at straws over by-election losses

      27 June 2022

      BROWSE BY TAGS

      antivaxxers Charity climate change Coronavirus Cost of living Creative industries Crime Cummings Democracy Devolution education Equality Farming Fishing hgv History Immigration Johnson Journalism Labour Local Democracy Mental Health mining money NHS NI Protocol omicron Pies pollution poverty PPE Public Health Review shortage social media Starmer tax travel Ukraine Yorkshire
      Yorkshire Bylines

      Yorkshire Bylines is a regional online newspaper that supports citizen journalism. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Yorkshire and beyond.

      Learn more about us

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Contact
      • About
      • Letters
      • Donate
      • Privacy
      • Bylines network
      • Shop

      © 2022 Yorkshire Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • News
        • Brexit
        • Education
        • Environment
        • Health
        • Home Affairs
        • Transport
        • World
      • Politics
      • Opinion
      • Lifestyle
        • Culture
        • Dance
        • Food
        • Music
        • Poetry
        • Recipes
        • Sport
      • Business
        • Economy
        • Technology
        • Trade
      • Donate
      • The Compendium of Cabinet Codebreakers
      • The Davis Downside Dossier
      • The Digby Jones Index
      • Newsletter sign up
      • Cartoons by Stan
      • Authors

      © 2022 Yorkshire Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

      Welcome Back!

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password?

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In