Tuesday 10 November 2020
Green Party MLA and Justice Committee Member Rachel Woods MLA has welcomed a Justice Department consultation into the so-called "rough sex gone wrong defence".
The campaign group, "We Can't Consent To This" has collated 60 examples of women who were killed during so-called "sex games gone wrong" in the UK, since 1972.
There are also 115 people - all but one of whom were women - who have had to attend court where it is claimed they consented to violent injury, the group has claimed.
Rachel Woods MLA: "The law must be clear that you cannot consent to serious injury in the form of so-called “rough sex”. This can be a defence often deployed by perpetrators of intimate partner abuse and violence.
"I can't imagine how distressing it must be for family members sitting through a trial where a “rough sex gone wrong” defence is used by the defendant. It's also appalling that a victim of a serious assault would have to attend court and answer questions around their consenting to violence during sex.
"There is lots to be done across our criminal justice system to protect victims of domestic abuse and bring perpetrators before the court. This consultation is another step forward and I hope that it eventually leads to a change in the law where the "rough sex gone wrong" defence is eradicated."
ENDS
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