Rape victim, 19, says judge was right to warn drunk women
Emma Clark waived her right to anonymity to defend Judge Lindsey Kushner for remarks about sexual assault.
A rape victim whose attack prompted a judge to warn that drunk women were putting themselves in danger has defended the remarks, saying they were "right". Megan Clark, 19, came to the defence of Judge Lindsey Kushner.
Clark was raped in July last year by a man she met in a fast food restaurant during a night out in Manchester.
Her attacker, Ricardo Rodrigues-Fortes-Gomes, 19, was found guilty of two counts of rape at Manchester Crown Court in February.
The trial made headlines after Kushner warned that drunken women were putting themselves at greater risk of sexual attack. Her comments sparked a ferocious backlash in which she was accused of "victim blaming".
But the teenager, who has waived her right to anonymity, told the BBC that Kushner's comments had been misconstrued by critics. She said the judge had meant them in "a positive way" and dismissed the accusation that she was victim blaming.
"She was right in what she said," Clark told Victoria Derbyshire.
Clark was 18 when Rodrigues-Fortes-Gomes raped her on the stairs leading to a canal path at 7am on 23 July 2016. Witnesses heard her shouting: "Stop, it's not right!"
Rodrigues-Fortes-Gomes was given a six year sentence and forced to sign the sex offenders register for life.
In her summing up of the case, Kushner was at pains to make clear that she was not blaming Clark for what had happened to her but added that she did not think it was wrong for "a judge to beg women to take actions to protect themselves".
She said: "Girls are perfectly entitled to drink themselves into the ground but should be aware people who are potential defendants to rape gravitate towards girls who have been drinking."
Kushnersuffered a public backlash conducted largely through social media. Natalie Silvey tweeted: "Thankfully Lindsey Kushner is retiring - her views are victim shaming and utterly wrong."
Berrin Sturgess said: Lindsey Kushner QC taking a huge sh** on her own gender and their safety... thanks for supporting feminism. P***k"
Clark also told Derbyshire about her struggle coming to terms with what had happened to her. She said she initially blamed herself for the crime.
She said: "I felt I put myself in that situation. I need to be more careful." I [now] know it wasn't my fault. It's never the victim's fault – they aren't the problem regardless of what I was doing.
"I think the judge was using my case, it was her last one, and she wanted to make a point."
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