Drug rape doesn't happen... oh wait

Rohypnol rape is a myth, did you know? It never happens.

Except, of course, when it does.

John Worboys has been found guilty of sexually assaulting over a dozen women. Other victims may number in the hundreds. Rape is 'he said, she said', though, isn't it? Apparently it takes the testimony of 14 women to contradict one man.

And is it any wonder rape convictions are so low then cases are handled like this:

It emerged in court that Worboys was arrested and questioned in July 2007 following reports by a number of women, but he was released on police bail without further action. A further seven of the women who gave evidence in court were assaulted after his initial release.

Following the verdict, the Independent Police Complaints Commission announced it will review the Metropolitan police's handling of the case and examine how Worboys managed to slip through detectives' fingers after the July 2007 attack. Scotland Yard referred itself to the watchdog and the officers involved could face misconduct charges if found to have acted negligently.

Credit to the Guardian, they have two excellent pieces on low conviction rates and how we can start taking rape seriously. Go read them.

One final excerpt to cheer you up for the weekend:

The reality of rape in Britain, that it is an almost cost-free act of crushing aggression, makes us look backward. No country in Europe has a lower conviction rate, other than Ireland.