By ‘you’ I was referring to the general readership here, not the victim. The police can take statements that are admissible in court, use rape kits and offer professional counselling and support. This is assuming the police are well trained. If they aren’t, then train them don’t just give up the whole justice system…

“It isn’t the rape victim that is at fault for not reporting the rape, it’s the system for making the reporting of a rape as traumatic and futile as the rape itself.”

I think, in the Cosby case, the odds of him being innocent are vanishingly small. Especially because he has openly admitted to many of the acts. However, I will not openly say that he is definitely guilty or I open myself to legal action because it has not been proven yet in a court of law.

Yes, on both counts. Though it’s worth noting that white, male victims of sexual assault have an even lower conviction rate when they go to court precisely because there is an even higher expectation that they should have been able to fight off their attackers.

And do you believe not reporting rape to the police increases our decreases that percentage?

I have sympathy for both sides. Well, technically empathy for one, sympathy for the other.

The term rapist refers to someone that has committed the act of rape, not necessarily someone that has been convicted of the crime of rape.

Those are all good points and they aren’t easily answerable from my position, or at least any answers I give are pretty subjective and the ‘line’ I take could be argued further one way or the other, but I will try my best:

You are correct in that acquaintance rape is very hard to secure a prosecution for, much less a conviction because of the he said/she said nature and the lack of witnesses.

No rapist may be identified until he/she is formally found guilty of rape?

So you’re saying he did not fight back hard enough for you to believe his story?

My bad. It’s been a while since history class.

It’s an amendment. It can be amended away.

Hah, my eldest is the same way. He’s the life of the party at school by all accounts and I see him having a ball in the playground, but if one of his friends sees him in the supermarket and calls him over he just flat out ignores them. (Unless they are one of two or three kids who are his best friends)

He knows his own full name, including middle. He’s aware that I have a first name, but he never calls me by it, so he probably can’t remember what it is.

Well, I think saying that someone who chooses to have multiple kids in a short space of time is in need of reproductive control isn’t necessarily true. If you are able to take care of those kids then fine, knock yourself out, have twenty if you like.

The property market in Florida for crazy people is pretty full, she was probably just waiting for an apartment to become available.

My eldest is four and to him I am just ‘Dad’. He knows his own address, including postal code and he’s probably heard his mum use my given name inadvertantly, but in a strange environment asked by a stranger? No, I doubt he could give my full name.

I suppose there’s a distinction to be made between art and design. I tend to think of art in terms of an activity done for its own sake. Design is more customer or results-led but is no less creative. The people making the latest trendy clothing or the latest bodywork for Lamborghini are designers even though many of…

One of the reasons I’m kinda relieved I have two boys. We wanted a girl, but thinking about it, there are so many more things to worry about.