Harriet Harman says the ban on the so-called ‘Fifty Shades defence’ to counter murder charges will force men to ‘take responsibility’ for women’s deaths.
An amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill will prevent ‘consensual rough sex’ from being a defence to harming or killing a victim and MP Harriet, 62, London appeared on Loose Women with campaigner Fiona Mackenzie, 36, to discuss the new law.
The politician and solicitor told how the defence gave men ‘the grizzly opportunity to twist women’s empowerment of their on sexuality’ and insisted that ‘if their hands killed someone’, it’s murder.
MPs have previously raised the death of Natalie Connolly in 2016, who bled to death after ‘rough sex’ with her boyfriend John Broadhurst after an alcohol and cocaine binge, as an example of where the ‘consent defence’ has been used.
Multi-millionaire property developer Broadhurst was jailed for three years and eight months after admitting manslaughter by gross negligence.
It also follows criticism by police of the ‘rough sex defence’ in the trial of the murder of 21-year-old Essex backpacker Grace Millane in New Zealand.
Harriet Harman (pictured) says the ban on the so-called ‘Fifty Shades defence’ to counter murder charges will force men to ‘take responsibility’ for women’s deaths
The comments come following criticism by police of the ‘rough sex defence’ in the trial of the murder of 21-year-old Essex backpacker Grace Millane (pictured)
Harriet said: ‘What it says, this law, if you’re a man who inflicted these injuries which caused her death, you have to take responsibility for that, even if she did want it.
‘You have to take responsibility because it’s your hands that killed her, it’s not about changing sexual behaviour, it’s about responsibility.
‘If it’s his hands doing the strangulation, he is responsible and it’s murder.’
Harriet went on to argue that the ‘rough sex defence’ was a reflection on women’s liberation, and women ‘defining themselves as sexual beings’, which she believes was ‘encapsulated’ by the 50 Shades of Grey book series.
Harriet told that while in the past women have been perceived as ‘submissive’, females owning their sexuality gave men the ‘opportunity to twist their empowerment’ as a means of escaping justice
Natalie Connolly (pictured above) was found with more than 40 injuries when police found her
She told that while in the past women have been perceived as ‘submissive’ females owning their sexuality gave men the ‘opportunity to twist their empowerment’ as a means of escaping justice.
Harriet told: ‘I think 30-or 40 years ago if a defence barrister said “Yes my client did strangle this woman, but it’s part of rough sex gone wrong” a jury wouldn’t have believed it.
‘Women were submissive, they were not seen as sexual and that defence would not have run.
‘But with the women’s liberation moment, women wanting to own their sexuality and to define themselves as sexual beings, encapsulated by the 50 Shades books, the idea became normalised that some women want pain inflicted on them in sex .
‘This gave the grizzly opportunity for men to twist women’s empowerment of their on sexuality and say, “I inflicted those injuries because she wanted rough sex”. And it’s impossible for the women, or anyone else to challenge him.’
Harriet spoke on the now abolished common law defence of ‘provocation’, which defence lawyers would refer to as the ‘nagging and shagging’ defence
Fiona, who started campaign group, We Can’t Consent To This, told of the women who have informed her of violent sexual assaults taking place during sex
She spoke on the now abolished common law defence of ‘provocation’, which defence lawyers would refer to as the ‘nagging and shagging’ defence.
The controversial defence could occur when a person was considered to have committed a criminal act partly because of a preceding set of events that might cause a reasonable person to lose self control.
Harriet explained: ‘I think there has been a horrible tradition of men blaming women for their own death, saying: “Yes I killed her, but it was her fault”.
‘He would stand in the docks presenting himself as a victim, and that was called provocation and that used to mean murder was dropped to manslaughter.
‘This was abolished, but only as recently as 2009 and that was called the “nagging and shagging defence” by defence lawyers, it was literally blaming her for her own death.’
MP Harriet, 62, London appeared on Loose Women with campaigner Fiona Mackenzie, 36, to discuss the new law. Pictured with host Kaye Adams
Harriet, a long-time advocate of women’s rights, told how she became interested in the issue following the use of the ‘rough sex’ defence in the death of Natalie Connolly
Harriet, a long-time advocate of women’s rights, told how she became interested in the issue following the use of the ‘rough sex’ defence in the death of Natalie Connolly.
She went on: ‘Then in the Natalie case, he was saying “I was only doing what she wanted. Yes, those injuries were what I inflicted but it’s not my fault, it’s her fault she died, it’s what she wanted”.
‘She can’t speak for herself and her poor relatives need to listen to this, so i’s really important we ban this defence.’
Fiona, who started campaign group, We Can’t Consent To This, added: ‘I set up this campaign after Natalie Connolly’s killing and immediately started hearing from women who had been violently assaulted by their sexual partners.
‘This is often really serious violence and in particular strangulation, the idea you can go on a date with a guy and be strangled to the point you’re unconscious and that not be treated as a serious crime is horrifying. ‘
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