Rape and justice

Justice should not only be done, but be seen to be done, and therefore secrecy in trial proceedings is to be countenanced only when circumstances genuinely demand it. However, justice also requires that people should not be punished for what they have not done, or for what it cannot be proved that they have done. Innocent people, or people not proved guilty, should be able to live their lives after their trial as if they had never been accused.

The amendment to the Sexual Offences Bill passed by the House of Lords, granting anonymity to men accused of rape until they are found guilty, is therefore just and proper. This is because it is impossible, in the present climate at least, to live down a widely publicised accusation of rape. Sexual offences are popularly regarded as being in a completely different (and worse) category than all other infractions of the law, however severe, and many people suppose that there can be no smoke without fire.