We’ve seen much of late on what rape is and what rape is not (mostly from white men, though Helen Mirren has also expressed distressing opinions). What has been expressed however is mostly personal opinion on what should be rape. Counterarguments have attempted to clearly state that the law is in fact very clear and that any instance where a man has non-consensual sexual intercourse with a woman/another person (I think the gendered descriptions around this reveal quite a few biases) is rape. Take for instance this brilliant, honest and important blog post by Laurie Penny. The reality is that this, however, is far from true. If we take a detailed look at the law on rape in the UK and Ireland we will see that it is much more complicated and that it remains problematic and contested. Continue reading “The Law of Rape in the UK and Ireland” →