AS I SEE IT
BY MARIANNE HERON
The recent high profile rape trial had elements of a David, or rather Davinia V Goliath, contest with hair colourist Nikita Hand pitted against Mixed Martial Arts superstar Conor McGregor. The jury reached their verdict and Hand emerged with damages of just short of a quarter of a million.
Perhaps we can breathe a sigh of relief that this may be a sign that the kind of attitudes which often prevail in rape cases, where the victim becomes the one on trial with attempts to discredit her and shift the blame from the perpetrator, have changed. The verdict in Nikita’s case suggests that women are now more likely to be believed when they claim that they have been raped.
It bears remembering though, that in a civil case like this one, the burden of proof is on ‘the balance of probability’ – in other words the jury found it was an offence that probably happened, but they did not know for certain. In a criminal case the proof required is more stringent and must be beyond reasonable doubt. The DPP had declined twice – the second time when Hand asked for a review – to take the case on criminal grounds, holding that the evidence didn’t support a reasonable prospect of conviction.
In the aftermath of the case, I feel disquiet on several issues. Women’s Aid have called for a boycott of McGregor’s stout and whiskey brands, wagging a finger at retailers saying that no store should want to promote the products of a man found guilty of such behaviour. And this has been followed nationwide.
The jurors in the trial reached a conclusion about a probable offence and a modest amount of damages – less than expected – were awarded, so should it be up to Women’s Aid to deliver a further verdict? Surely, we can make up our own minds whether to purchase brands associated with McGregor or not.
What are Women’s Aid hoping to achieve? A drop in sales of Forged Irish stout and Proper 12 whiskey, which McGregor sold last year, will cause more damage for the families producing it than to the highest paid sportsman worth around $2 million.
The real damage to McGregor’s reputation following the case is incalculable: he has been hugely punished in ways which will continue to impact him enormously. What kind of signal does the Women’s Aid boycott demand send, it’s a bit like punching a man when he is down and it’s hardly going to improve attitudes of McGregor’s 47 million online followers, many of them young men who are reverting to more traditional misogynistic views of women.
There’s a missed opportunity here for McGregor’s advisors and perhaps for Women’s Aid to facilitate the Ultimate Fighting Champion to be a better model of masculinity for the many who hold him as a hero. As it is, he has come out fighting, vowing to appeal the case and posting apparently defamatory comments about Hand online as well as criticising the High Court. Expressing regret for the hurt and trauma caused might read better.
We haven’t heard the last of the case either, as the issue of damages hasn’t been decided, Hand could well end up out of pocket, as she lost her case against McGregor’s friend James Lawrence, and the case could also be appealed by McGregor.
When the dust settles, we might consider some other issues in general. One is awareness about the kind of signals that interaction between the sexes send: is an agreement to go to a hotel room, or back to someone’s place, likely to be seen as a ’yes’ by either a man or woman? Another is to avoid putting oneself in harm’s way, for both men and women. Yes, there is far too much violence against women – and men too. It will be wonderful when we can walk dark streets unafraid, but, until we can, don’t we need to be mindful of putting ourselves at risk?
As the Christmas party season gets in full swing don’t we need to avoid drinking or taking drugs to the point where that internal voice which warns “maybe it’s not such a good idea to do this” is silenced.
And by no means least, there is the question of the example adults set for children and young people. Easy to be wise after the event, but maybe it’s better to be wise before it.
