Female Sexual Violence - The Continuing Epidemic

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Domestic abuse in the UK rose by nearly a quarter in the year ending March 2019, while referrals of cases from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service fell by 11%.

746,219 domestic abuse-related crimes were recorded in total, an increase of 24% when compared to the previous year.[i] The statistics recorded for domestic abuse remain persistently high, especially of violence towards women. Data dating back to the year ending March 2005 demonstrates that, for women aged 16 to 59 years, an average of 9.06% were victims once or more.

Female Sexual Violence

The statistics are troubling. Over the past 20 years, there is no evidence that domestic violence is being dealt with efficiently and effectively. The courage that is required for survivors of domestic abuse to bring their cases forward and speak out is immeasurable and they need to be shown that doing so results in swift and decisive action. While the percentages remain constant, not enough is being done to tackle this plague.

Sarika Seshadri, of Women’s Aid, stated that: “Domestic abuse is such a devastating crime, the women who experience it lose everything: their home, their freedom, their dignity and ultimately their lives.”[ii]

‘Normalisation’ of sexual violence

BBC Radio 5 Live found that more than a third of UK women under the age of 40 have experienced unwanted slapping, choking, gagging or spitting during consensual sex, 20% of these women said that they had been left upset or frightened.

Anna, 23, told the BBC that she had experienced this with three different men. “I was shocked…I felt extremely uncomfortable and intimated. If someone slapped or choked you on the street, it would be assault.” She continued, “I know some women will say they like this. What is problematic is when men assume that every woman wants this.”

Steven Pope, a psychotherapist specialising in sex and relationships, told BBC 5 Live: “It’s a silent epidemic. People do it because they think it’s the norm but it can be very harmful. What we see is that for many, it devalues the relationship but – at its worst – violence becomes acceptable.”[iii]

Vicky Roberts had been with her husband Michael for four years and been married for just five months when he murdered her. Mr. Roberts had attempted to plead Vicky’s death had been the result of a “sex game gone wrong”; he claimed Vicky had instructed him to pull a bathrobe cord around her neck before telling him to “pull tighter”.

Couple

Amongst other evidence, the pathology report disagreed with Roberts, demonstrating that the injuries were not consistent with the use of a dressing gown cord and that the force was so excessive that Roberts had snapped a hyoid bone in the front of Vicky’s neck. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in prison.[iv]

Strangulation is highly gendered and has become a frequent feature in domestic and sexual assault. On average, a woman in the UK is strangled to death by her partner every two weeks.[v] But how did the act of sexual choking become so common?

The Guardian spoke anonymously with women who had experienced strangulation during sex. ‘Amber’ said that she had met a friend of a friend on a night out and went back to his. While sleeping with him, he began to squeeze her neck.

Amber stated “I wanted to be attractive to him. So, I just thought: ‘OK, this is what gets him off, I’ll let him’…I figured: this must be how people have sex now.”[vi]

There are mentions of autoerotic asphyxia dating back to the 18^th century, but it is far more prevalent now than ever. This is in part down to pornography and the insistence from women’s magazines that it can be a way to ‘spice things up in the bedroom’.

Elite Daily establishes that “sexperts” state one of the ways a woman can help kickstart a ‘kinky’ sex life is choking, and that it is possible to read up on “how to choke your partner safely”.[vii]

Erika Lust, a female porn director, states that “[face slapping, choking, gagging and spitting] are presented as standard ways to have sex when, in fact, they are niches.” Lust explains, “Many people’s first exposure to sex is hardcore porn”. It teaches young adults “that men should be rough and demanding, and that degradation is standard.”[viii]

The ‘rough sex’ defence and victim-blaming

In a recent article I wrote, I highlighted the shocking and tragic tale of 22-year old Grace Millane, the English backpacker murdered while in New Zealand as part of her around-the-world-trip. The assailant’s defence was a claim that Ms. Millane had died in a “sex game gone wrong” which lead to much intrigue and investigation surrounding this ‘rough sex’ defence.

The reaction from media prior, during and after the trial exemplifies the archaic attitudes that are still held by some members of society. The defence homed in on Ms Millane’s sexual fantasies and fetishes, highlighting that she belonged to BDSM dating site and had allowed a former partner to choke her during sex.

Media outlets ran wild with this, too many pointing out Ms. Millane’s sexual fetishes, not enough condemning the assailant’s horrendous act.

The Sun published a story based on Millane being a fan of the 50 Shades of Grey films and the Daily Mail ran with a headline declaring her as ‘naïve and trusting’ before delving into quotes from a previous partner detailing her sexual history.

The media coverage continued throughout the trial, more interested in implying that Grace Millane had somehow contributed to her own death due to her private, sexual preferences, than stressing the heart-breaking and unnecessary loss of a young woman in her prime. Fiona Mackenzie, founder of We Can’t Consent to This stated that:

“After the murder, the trial and the way it was reported…I think there’s a new understanding of the ‘rough sex’ defence and a level of anger that wasn’t there before”.[ix]

Two in five workers experienced symptoms of poor mental health linked to work in 2018

What this comes down to, plain and simple, is victim-blaming. It is, unfortunately, ingrained in the DNA of modern society and the instant reaction to tragic tales like that of Grace Millane, is to immediately look into the woman’s back story; ‘this woman has gone to the other side of the world, gone on a dating app, got drunk with a stranger and put herself in that situation.’

Questions are asked of her character and her backstory is immediately considered. The fact is, it should be irrelevant. Grace Millane’s choices on that night did not kill her, her choice to frequent dating apps did not kill her and her sexual history did not kill her. An unnamed, predatory 27-year old man in New Zealand killed her.

Hallie Rubenhold, author of ‘The Five’, a book detailing the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper, confirms that, in her view, the act of victim-blaming has been ongoing for centuries. Her award-winning book details how the press coverage was majorly inaccurate.

When Jack the Ripper is spoken about, the general consensus is that the victims of his plight were prostitutes. However, Rubenhold found no credible evidence that they had ever worked as prostitutes, they were born female and working-class and had fallen on hard times.

The victims have been reduced to vulnerable, faceless sex workers. Despite common belief, they were not targeted because they were selling their bodies, they were targeted because they were women who would not be missed; they became victims because society did not care about them. [x]

Staunch Book Prize

Sticking with the subject of literature, the Staunch Book Prize was recently launched in 2018. This prize recognises thrillers in which “no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered”. The aim of this is to challenge the stereotype where women are always the victims. This, of course, has presented debate, with some claiming that it is unrealistic and that the award ignores social realities.

Sarah Hilary, author of the Marnie Rome crime series called out the award and stated: “Violence against women takes many forms, perhaps the most insidious of which is censorship.

We’re discouraged from going to the police in case we’re not believed, taught to expect resistance to our version of events, silenced by shame or fear…this prize reinforces all those negative messages and ignores the very real good that crime fiction can do by reflecting the violent reality of many women’s lives”.[xi]

Samantha Harvey, writer of The Western Wind which centres around the death of a male victim, disagrees, and highlights the stereotypes of violence against women:

“The violent crimes in most books are against women, and if that’s just being done as a default position, unthinkingly, because that’s just what we do’ and how we get readers – because in some troubling way that’s what people prefer to read about – I think that does need to be challenged.”[xii]

Consultation

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

In the UK, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) helps those who were sexually assaulted by providing them with compensation for the ordeals they have been through.

The CICA calculate their awards based on a tariff system and, depending on the circumstances of incident and the severity of the injuries sustained following it, the CICA can make awards ranging from £1,000 to £44,000 for sexual assault claims.

As going through with a claim of this nature can be an intimidating prospect, especially after an incident as sensitive as this, the CICA present a service that allows them to settle a claim as quickly as possible and with the least amount of intrusion as they possibly can. They will use their tariff of injuries to offer a fixed payment based wholly on the nature of the assault.

If this option is undertaken, the CICA will not take into account any additional physical or psychological injuries and so this option is not always the best route to take.

However, if the ‘fast-track’ option is chosen, the CICA will check your eligibility using a police report which they will obtain directly from the police, write to you with a decision and not need to obtain, access or examine any of your medical records.

Usually, a CICA claim takes around 12-18 months to reach an initial decision, however, for a ‘fast-track’ claim, the CICA advises it will look to complete this in around 8 weeks.

Female Sexual Violence – The Continuing Epidemic

Domestic abuse in the UK rose by nearly a quarter in the year ending March 2019, while referrals of cases from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service fell by 11%.

‘Normalisation’ of sexual violence

The ‘rough sex’ defence and victim-blaming

Staunch Book Prize

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Further reading

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