Judges ordered to rethink views on consent
Lord Burnett, Lord Chief Justice, and Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the family division have ordered that family court judges are to be retrained after one judge told a woman she could have fought off the rapist who attacked her.
Both Sir Andrew and Lord Burnett are aiming to ensure that training ensures "consent and stereotypes in sexual cases" are fully covered.
The calls for a reassment of current views comes as a result of more than 130 lawyers and women's groups calling for family judges to be trained in the "meaning of consent" and that outdated views should be reconsidered.
One such instance involved Judge Robin Tolson who disregarded a womans rape claim because she had done "nothing physically" to stop her alleged rapist.
In that case the judge told the court that the woman "was not in any sense pinned down" and she "could easily, physically, have made life harder" for the man. Consequently it "did not constitute rape", he told the court.
An open letter said attitudes such as those delivered by the judge, "leave children and women at risk of serious harm. Increasingly, the courts are no longer seen as a safe place for women who have been abused. The letter itself was endorsed by Dame Vera Baird, the victims' commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner, and Claire Waxman, London victims' commissioner.
The womans subsequent appeal was upheld by Ms Justice Russell who subsequently ordered a fresh case be held before a different judge. .
Sir Andrew has asked the Judicial College to provide additional training in dealing with cases of sexually related assault. In response it said, "The enhanced training will be delivered, initially electronically, from May 2020 and from then on will be included in every continuation training course for the Family judiciary."
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