“Rough Sex” murder defence
Proposal
The Women’s Rights Party opposes pornography, which includes filmed prostitution, rough sex, strangulation, other forms of violence, and sexual abuse, and sends a message that such violence and abuse of women is unacceptable. The Women’s Rights Party will work with other groups in calling for a ban on the use of “rough sex” as a defence in a murder case or a case involving serious harm.
Rationale
The UK law on domestic abuse now rules out; consent for sexual gratification; as a defence for causing serious harm to a person. The so-called “rough sex” defence was increasingly used in UK courts in cases of sexual violence – that either end in murder or serious harm – to explain why the violence occurred.
This was highlighted in the case of the killer of British backpacker Grace Millane where lawyers for her killer Jesse Kempson argued that Grace Millane had died accidentally in a “sex game gone wrong” after she had consented to “rough sex” (BDSM-style sex). During the trial, family and friends heard details of Millane’s sexual preferences — claims she was unable to challenge. Grace Millane’s parents have called for the New Zealand Government to follow the UK example and ban “rough sex” as a defence in murder cases.
Kempson was eventually sentenced to life in prison but the UK group We Can’t Consent To This, has data showing that often this defence results in reduced sentencing.
We Can’t Consent To This was founded in 2018 in response to the increased use of the “rough sex” defence, particularly in the Natalie Connolly case in December 2018. Connolly was killed by her partner at their home in Worcestershire, England in 2016. She died of vaginal arterial bleeding and suffered 40 separate injuries including serious internal trauma, a fractured eye socket, and facial wounds. Her partner who claimed it was a result of sex games “gone wrong”, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to three years and eight months in prison.
Reasons behind the increase in rough sex include more liberal attitudes towards violence in the bedroom, and pornography that is easily accessible on-line at an early age with algorithms that push users into a rabbit hole that is more and more extreme.
In four of the most recent killings recorded by We Can’t Consent To This, the men had viewed “extreme porn” featuring violence including strangulation and killing of women before or after the killing of the women.
