I don't know if there have been more rape cases in Merseyside of late, or I'm just reading the local paper more. This one, about an 18-year-old attacked in Southport is from Saturday's Liverpool Echo.
Detective Inspector Dave Rooney said: “I would like to reassure local people that this kind of assault is thankfully quite rare and we are determined to bring the offender to justice as soon as possible.
Well, I should bloody hope it's rare. Having a chat with a stranger who turns out to be a rapist had better be rare, if we're claiming to be a civil society.
I take it that what DI Rooney means is that stranger rape is quite rare. As a proportion of rape cases, it is - the vast majority of victims are attacked by someone they know.
Only, it's not that rare, is it? It happened in Norris Green a couple of weeks ago. Two occasions in a fortnight, with four attackers in the first, which surely counts as four rapes, strikes me as not nearly rare enough.
The DI went on:
“However, I would like to remind women to take care when they go out at night and to avoid walking through isolated or unlit areas on their own. Always walk home in pairs or in a group and avoid being on your own at night.”
Which I suppose is sound advice in context, especially since the haven't caught the attacker in the Southport case yet.
But shit, am I the only one who wishes he'd also said "I advise men to not rape women, or other men, or anybody, thank-you-very-sodding-much."?
Maybe next time.
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