Recently a petition has been established supporting the coalition government's proposals for anonymity for those accused of rape. The policy was democratically agreed at the Liberal Democrat Conference in 2006 and was was also announced as an official coalition policy last month.
A number of gender feminists have come out strongly against protecting vicitms of false rape allegations and it would be a real tragedy is such desperately needed civil liberties legislation was watered down due to pressure from anti-male groups. There's even an Early Day Motion in Parliament against the proposals, with some of the usual suspects opposing protecting such vulnerable men. For more on why such a policy is needed I strongly recommend reading some of our recent articles on the issue or visiting the excellent False Rape Society website.
Please sign the petition and to ask friends and colleagues to do the same.
by John Kimble
i dont support anonymity and agree with this MRA, ...
http://tinyurl.com/3y8xw2m
anonymity will hurt men not help them
Posted by: john | Sunday, 13 June 2010 at 18:47
That's an excellent piece, but it also requires anonymity for the accusers at the same time. Given that there's zero prospect of such a situation occurring then anonymity for the accused is surely a decent second best method of tackling the problem?
There are of course countless other methods of reducing false allegations as I highlighted the other week, though none of those options seem to be on the table at present.
Anyway thanks for sharing.
Posted by: John Kimble | Sunday, 13 June 2010 at 19:35
The petition link has been posted on an online support website www.pafaa.org.uk for those protesting their innocence of sexual offences.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Is there any chance of you starting up a petition in relation to IPP sentencing for those who protest their innocence? they will probably die in prison if they do not admit guilt to crimes that were never committed.
Posted by: Helga | Monday, 14 June 2010 at 18:26
John, I don't think I agree with even a single point on that list. We've learned an awful lot about false rape claims in the eight years since that piece was written, and I just don't think that list has much validity at this stage.
Posted by: Pierce Harlan | Monday, 14 June 2010 at 21:54
Sorry what I meant was that it's about the best piece I've seen in terms of arguing against anonymity (though that's in the context of most other articles being total nonsense).
I don't agree with all the points either, I'm just saying it's well argued. We need to bear in mind that anonymity won't fix everything and there are plenty of alternative solutions out there to help protect vicitms of false rape.
Posted by: John Kimble | Monday, 14 June 2010 at 23:10
John, I completely agree.
We've always believed there are three main prongs to correcting the false rape problem: first, anonymity; second, stop arresting and charging on the basis of a lone accusation and prior to a full investigation; and third, deter false rape claims with serious penalties.
Posted by: Pierce Harlan | Tuesday, 15 June 2010 at 12:28
There is a Facebook group here.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=130669600279794&ref=ts
Posted by: Thomas Byrne | Tuesday, 15 June 2010 at 15:48
I wanted to see if I could get your quick help. I just started a petition on Change.org titled "Anonyminity For the Accused", and I'd love your support. You can sign the petition in less than 30 seconds by clicking the link below.
Also, please pass this on to all your colleagues and friends. Let's make a difference before you become a victim.
www.change.org/petitions/view/anonyminity_for_the_accused?te=npf
Thanks so much for the help!
Posted by: Chris Garrett | Wednesday, 08 September 2010 at 06:03