#so I watched a documentary. and hearing the victim talk about the violent rape was so traumatizing

[thebusylilbee]

someone tagged one of my posts about loving pigeons with #mike tyson so I'm taking this opportunity to remind the world that this disgusting human being is not only already a convicted rapist, but also accused of having committed another rape, which is not at all unbelievable considering that rapists are generally serial rapists, so I truly hope he dies soon so I never have to hear anyone remind me that this piece of garbage likes pigeons <3

[darlinginspirationalwomen]

Darling Inspirational Woman #110 - Jill Saward Drake

(14 January 1965 – 5 January 2017)

Jill was an English campaigner on issues relating to sexual violence.

She was the victim of a violent robbery and rape in 1986 at a vicarage in Ealing, London, a crime for which the perpetrators' relatively lenient sentences led indirectly to changes in the law. Saward was the first rape victim in Britain to waive her right to anonymity.

I can remember seeing Jill on the news when I was a child but not understanding the full impact of her story and the bravery she showed at the time. On hearing of her death earlier this year I read back through some of the articles and watched the interviews that took place following the sentencing of her rapists. It leaves me cold reading the sentencing that the judge passed on her rapists, claiming that "Because I have been told the trauma suffered by the victim was not so great, I shall take a lenient course with you", Jill who was then 21 was at home with her father Michael, the vicar of St Mary’s Ealing, and her boyfriend, David Kerr, when a gang armed with knives broke in around lunchtime on 6 March 1986. Two of the balaclava-wearing men repeatedly raped her before tying her up with a skipping rope; another two beat her father and boyfriend with the vicar’s cricket bat, leaving them close to death.

Not even a week after the incident the despicable Sun Newspaper published a photograph of Jill with just her eyes blacked out, as well as an image of her home on its front page, jeopardising her anonymity. The newspaper's editor, Kelvin MacKenzie, said he printed the images because a rape victim only earned the right to anonymity once a suspect had been charged with the offence. This led to the Press Council amending its guidelines and the closure of that legal loophole, being the first positive change to follow from this act.

In 1990 Jill featured in an Everyman programme for the BBC with Jenni Murray. In doing so, she became the first British rape victim to waive her right to anonymity, this being her own choice and not that of a newspaper editor. The documentary was used to educate judges about the trauma suffered by rape victims. The judge in her case publicly apologised to Jill in 1993 (on his retirement) saying that his judgement at the trial had been a "blemish – I make no bones about it".

Later on Jill said “Sometimes I thought it might be quite nice to be full of hatred and revenge. But I think it creates a barrier and you’re the one who gets damaged in the end. So, although it makes you vulnerable, forgiving is actually a release. I don’t think I’d be here today without my Christian faith. That’s what got me through.”  

She went on to train judges and police officers on sexual violence issues, gave talks in schools, sat on government bodies considering changes to policy and made countless media appearances recounting her experience.

(Debbie V)