Why anonymity for men accused of rape is imperative

From the Telegraph UK via Instapundit:

The witch-hunt suffered by Oxford University’s Ben Sullivan shows exactly why men need pre-conviction anonymity in rape trials, writes Peter Lloyd.

After five weeks of public humiliation, finger-pointing and gender bias – both on campus and in the media – police confirmed that he won’t face a single charge over two unfounded rape allegations.

Not one. Nothing. Nadda.

But, like countless men all over the world – including Paul Weller, Amy Winehouse’s ex-boyfriend Reg Traviss, Nigel Evans MP, William Roache and Craig Charles – Sullivan’s life has already been affected by a system that considers men’s innocence a bonus, not a baseline.

What a joke.

In a damning example of everyday sexism, Sarah Pine, President for Women at Oxford University Student Union, spearheaded a character assassination against the innocent 21 year-old, before the accusations against him had time to be considered.

She devised a boycott of speakers scheduled to appear at the Union and called for Sullivan to resign. Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble, Norman Finkelstein and – rather worryingly – David Mepham, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, both jumped on board the hysteria train, parping their horns along the tracks of misandry and make-believe.

Jennifer Perry, CEO of the Digital Trust and author of the UK guidelines on digital risks, resisted – and later spoke of how she felt ‘threatened’ and ‘intimidated’ by Pine’s gender-driven agenda.

So much for innocent until proven guilty. . . . Is this modern feminism? I can’t help think it’s less third wave, more Third Reich.

So a radical feminist, with an agenda stirs up a witch hunt over a case that the Police decline to make ANY charges. The Duke Lacrosse False Rape case, London Style.

Another writer in the British Daily Mail writes:

Had it gone to trial, Ben Sullivan’s guilt or innocence would have been a matter for the courts to decide. And if found guilty, his punishment would have been a lengthy jail sentence. Yet all this happened before the CPS had decided whether or not to charge him.

This is part of a chilling trend in which, on U.S. university campuses, feminists have become self-appointed rape cops. If a male student is accused of a sexual assault on a female student, it has become alarmingly commonplace for it to be dealt with in-house, as opposed to by the police

With scary results, which, an enterprising lawyer can turn into the next Big Tobacco case AGAINST Universities and their Endowments.

Who knows what really happened on those drunken nights of student lust. What we do know is that Ben Sullivan has been named, shamed and decreed guilty by a cabal of enraged women before the case even went to court. His life could have been ruined by these accusations.

He now has to pick up the pieces and somehow carry on while they remain anonymous, their identities cloaked for all time.

MP Nigel Evans, who himself was cleared of sexual offences earlier this year, has said that whatever happens, Sullivan’s life will never be the same again.

Evans is campaigning for alleged sex offenders to have anonymity at least until they are charged; one can see his point. Somehow the need for open justice needs to be balanced against the horror of a false rape accusation, something which can leave a life-long stigma.

Tougher sentences for those who knowingly make false claims would be a start.

It will never happen, but I think the women, who make false charges, should be charge AND sentaced, if found guilt, with a sentence equal to the amount of time the man would have served. Make the women have a stake for making a false allegation.

On the issue of anonymity, I also feel we should either have it for both sides or neither.

Every time a case like this collapses, it is a calamity for everyone involved. No one comes out of it well.

In the Duke Lacrosse case, there are still news organizations that still will not name the false accuser. But the name of the three player, see what pops up when you Google their names.

Considering all the feminist baloney indoctrinated into the heads of all the young Co-eds around the western world, I'm at the point of assuming the man is innocent and the woman is making a rape charge to absolve herself of the responsibility of making a regrettable decision to have sex.

"Since he "raped" me, it's not my fault. I'm not a fool, slut or whore, but a VICTIM" goes the thinking, or is it indoctrination?.

And as for Sarah Pine and her wild, ducking-stool efforts to condemn this man before he had even been charged — I hope she is blackly ashamed of herself.

I can guarantee she feels no shame, regret, and has a clear conscience. Radical feminist are all like that, who care about the innocent victim crushed along the path to power. The Professors at Duke felt not shame, suffered no consequences for their behavior, in fact, many have been promoted or took more esteemed position in other Universities.