Dup's Jeffrey Donaldson Charged With Rape

[m williamson]

26 minutes ago, Axe said:

Tell me just one reason. 

Well for instance, this couple reported in BelfastLive https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/husband-wife-co-down-charged-28907532

Let's assume that this unknown married couple have children and that those children  were somehow involved and that the situation was so distressing that they couldn't bring themselves to report it until the sheer mental anguish became so much that they felt they had no choice.

 

Perhaps something such as that may be a reason?  Pure speculation obviously, but possible don't you think?

[Axe]

6 minutes ago, m williamson said:

Well for instance, this couple reported in BelfastLive https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/husband-wife-co-down-charged-28907532

Let's assume that this unknown married couple have children and that those children  were somehow involved and that the situation was so distressing that they couldn't bring themselves to report it until the sheer mental anguish became so much that they felt they had no choice.

 

Perhaps something such as that may be a reason?  Pure speculation obviously, but possible don't you think?

Let's not assume anything and wait until the outcome of the legal proceedings.

[HeHasRisen]

56 minutes ago, The_DADDY said:

Fear?

Shame?

Uncertainty that they will be believed?

The thought of having to relive events in a court in front of a room full of strangers? 

That's 4 but I'm sure there could be more reasons.

Yup all of those.  People wouldnt have believed Saviles accusers in the 70s, as an example. 

[m williamson]

26 minutes ago, Axe said:

Let's not assume anything and wait until the outcome of the legal proceedings.

I said let's assume. In other words for the purpose of the debate, and in answer to your request to be told one reason as to why the complaint took so long before being made.

I did not say that I assume that he and his wife are guilty,. as you say the court will decide.

[The_DADDY]

1 minute ago, HeHasRisen said:

Yup all of those.  People wouldnt have believed Saviles accusers in the 70s, as an example. 

Good point. Although I'll add that thankfully society seems a bit more willing to believe victims these days than it was back then. 

[peak4]

29 minutes ago, The_DADDY said:

Good point. Although I'll add that thankfully society seems a bit more willing to believe victims these days than it was back then. 

Not just society, but the really important difference is the CPS & police being told to start from a position of believing victims.

The CPS of course only works within England & Wales; I certainly don't know wat attitudes were prevalent in Northern Ireland's PPS at the same time.
The reforms Starmer made to the CPS when he was DPP, in conjunction with discussions with local prosecutors,  Nazir Afzal in particular, made a huge difference.

This review in the Guardian, is far from uncritical of Starmer overall, as am I at the moment, but I'd suggest that there is little doubt that he sought to improve interactions with victims during his tenure.
How leading the CPS changed Keir Starmer – while he changed it

“When he first came in 2008, we were concerned he would be very anti-police,” said Nazir Afzal, who was a CPS prosecutor at the time. “His background was pro bono work on the McDonald’s case and human rights law.”

However, over the course of the next few years Starmer transformed his reputation from that of a radical lawyer to that of a moderate and cautious administrator.

Afzal remembers Starmer being willing to take difficult decisions to make sure a new case could get off the ground.

“The problem was we needed to get a jury to believe one of the victims, even though at first we hadn’t,” he said.

“We had to say we got this wrong, and he agreed. He even changed internal guidelines so we could say in court we had previously made a mistake.”

The Savile and Rochdale cases helped persuade Starmer to change the CPS’s guidelines on sexual abuse cases.

Starmer told prosecutors they should start from a position of believing victims.

He also laid out a series of stereotypes they should avoid, including that the victim invited sex by the way they dressed or acted or that they were to blame because they had used drugs or alcohol.

The guidelines transformed the way in which the CPS approached such cases and helped boost conviction rates for sexual abuse cases.

Some, however, believe they went too far.................

 

In relation to The PPS, see below; I've not read it all, but the one highlighted passage from Page 21 should go some way to explaining the reluctance of victims to come forward
Inquiry into Criminal Justice Services available to Victims and Witnesses of Crime in Northern Ireland    Hansard 2011

We would also like to see victims having a status, or being acknowledged as victims.

As the lady from SAMM NI said; you are told that you are not a victim, that you are a witness, and that you are there just to help the prosecution.

At best, you are tolerated. We have examples of women who were treated discourteously or rudely by members of the judiciary or by prosecution staff.

Victims are not given the respect that is due to them.

As a minimum, we believe that going through the criminal justice system should not leave you feeling any worse than having been a victim of crime in the first instance.

Unfortunately, far too many women tell us that they wish that they had never reported the crime to the police or allowed the prosecution to go ahead, because of the violation that they felt again in going through the court process.