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  1. Politics
26 July 2010

The coalition makes welcome U-turn over rape

Men will not be granted anonymity.

By James Macintyre

The government is denying that it is a U-turn but it is — and a very welcome one, at that. The surprise (and, frankly, bizarre) plan by the Conservative-Liberal coalition to grant anonymity to men accused of rape in England and Wales has today been reversed.

It may be belated but it is the right decision, and one that, with luck, will bring closure to the controversial issue. The right-wing media have long portrayed some rape victims as liars and yet the facts and figures consistently show that there are many more cases than there are convictions.

This trend is partly the result of a suspicious, cynical and male-dominated culture in the police and criminal justice system as a whole; but it is also because of real fear on the part of rape victims of being targeted again by the accused.

Congratulations to those MPs who opposed the idea, which in part came from a 2006 Lib Dem policy. They included the shadow equalities minister, Yvette Cooper, and the Tory MP Louise Bagshawe.

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