Saturday, 23 November 2019

Women’s sexual histories have no place in a murder trial, as Grace Millane case shows

The scrutiny of the Briton’s sex life at her killer’s trial was just one of the proceedings’ many disturbing elements

Violence against women is one of New Zealand’s most significant and pressing social issues. Every day, police respond to hundreds of family violence incidents, and women continue to die as a result of men’s violence. In December 2018, New Zealand recognised the severity of a specific offence – strangulation – and implemented legislative reform to address its pervasiveness. Five arrests for strangulation were reported a day in February 2019 . I mention all of this because of the Grace Millane murder trial.

On 21 December 2018, she was strangled to death while visiting New Zealand. Her body was later found in a suitcase, buried, in the Waitakere Ranges in Auckland. The man accused of her murder claimed her death was the result of consensual rough sex that had “gone wrong”. Following a three-week long trial, a jury of five men and seven women found him guilty of murder after less than six hours of deliberation.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/34pHdEx

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