HJ Talks About Abuse

Tiktok and Issues of Consent

This week we talk about sexual assault allegations made by Tiktok star Jack Wright against Sienna Mae Gomez.

We are very aware in the generation we are living in, social media influencers are making a living from creating social content such as on tiktok. For some this is a full time career. The two parties in this matter, who are both 18 years old are hugely popular in California with a mass following of already over 23 million followers

The background of these allegations were that the two school friends, began dating and featured in each others tiktok videos. However, rumours of sexual assault carried out by Sienna began to circle in May 2021.

Sienna denied she had sexually assaulted Jack but lost over 500,000 followers almost overnight.

Jack Wright was filmed allegedly unconscious on a sofa with Sienna sitting on his lap kissing him and touching his genitals whilst  as stated he is seemingly incapacitated. She has disputed the video authenticity and states this has been heavily doctored and is a distortion of what happened.

Jack has now filmed a video of tiktok talking about sexual assault and the reaction online to this. This has already had over 8 million views since January 8^th 2022. He states he was kissed and repeatedly touched whilst unconscious and would break into his home at night, he would wake up to find her in his bed with his penis in her hand. Such allegations have been denied by Sienna’s representation.

This news story raises many issues which we often discuss. We live in a world where social media is used more and more.  Both these individuals will have young impressionable followers (as noted millions of followers). Had Jack not spoken out would this normalise such behaviour? Would this prevent others coming forward in similar circumstances.

There were many disturbing comments regarding the fact it could not be sexual assault if they were in a relationship.

The main point here in this matter is consent, which is clearly where they dispute what took place.

This is likely to impact Sienna’s career potentially beyond repair from a video she states is doctored. Again, we have discussed advances in technology with deep fakes and editing to a level where things can be easily distorted.

Again, it also questions what social media safeguarding should be put in place for content, especially when it can be viewed by millions in an instance.

We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at Alan.collins@hughjames.com or Danielle Vincent at  Danielle.vincent@hughjames.com.

Organised Sexual Abuse of Children

Alan and Professor Michael Salter discuss the organised sexual exploitation of children, specifically looking at how and why the issue is marginalised within society.

The discussion comes in the wake of the recently published report by IICSA: Child Sexual Exploitation by Organised Networks (https://www.iicsa.org.uk/reports-recommendations/publications/investigation/cs-organised-networks)  and Prof. Salter’ forthcoming paper The antiepistemology of organised abuse: Ignorance, exploitation, inaction (Salter, M. & Woodlock, D. (2021),  British Journal of Criminology).

They discuss organised child abuse, in which multiple adults sexually abuse multiple children, and how in this context research demonstrates how this has an important role to play in the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) but has been relegated to the margins of criminological concern.  Prof. Salter explains how his co-written paper presents the findings of an international survey of 74 adults who described childhood victimisation in CSAM and organised abuse, emphasising the relationship between organised abuse and entrenched ignorance of it. The paper identifies the multiple zones, practices and structures of ignorance

that render organised abuse unknowable and advocates for strategic forms of knowledge production in which ignorance features as a provocation towards information-seeking rather than as a defence mechanism against intolerable realities.

Alan questions how we can learn from the research, and how this can be gone about for example accessing the wealth of evidential material that must exist in criminal and family court proceedings.

Prof. Salter is a Scientia Research Fellow and Postgraduate Coordinator at the University of New South Wales.

Pope Benedict Admits To Providing False Information To Abuse Inquiry

Former pope Benedict XVI of the Roman Catholic Church has admitted providing false information to the German inquiry into clerical sexual abuse.

The report found Benedict whilst in his role of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977-1982 failed to take action against four priests accused of sexual abuse.

Benedict stated initially he was not at a meeting in the 1980’s which discussed allegations of abuse and that it was deemed by him as an oversight. An investigation found he was in fact involved in such meeting and was aware of the allegations. This allowed the perpetrators in question to remain in their positions within the church without sanction or supervision.

As Pope between 2005 and 2013, Benedict has previously come under fire for failing to act against widespread child sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic church and has repeatedly denied his role in knowingly covering up abuse, although in 2010 he admitted that the church “did not act quickly or firmly enough to take the necessary action”.

A previous report into historical abuse in Germany concluded that more than 3,600 people nationwide had been abused by clergy members between 1946 and 2014. Many of the survivors were very young and served as altar boys. Again as with any reported figures, these numbers are likely to be the tip of the iceberg with many survivors not disclosing their abuse.

The report, like many before them, is disappointing and once again demonstrates the failures of the church to protect those in the congregation. It will be very upsetting for many who could have been protected by the church.

We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at Alan.collins@hughjames.com or Danielle Vincent at  Danielle.vincent@hughjames.com.

Prosecution Rates Drop By 45% In Four Years

This week we talk about how child sexual abuse prosecution rates have reportedly fallen 45% in four years.

The figures obtained by the NSPCC indicate prosecutions fell from 6,394 in 2016/2017 to 3,025 in 2020/2021. Convictions in the same period fell from 4,751 to 2,595

Further information obtained through freedom of information requests suggested cases were taking much longer to get to trial with explanations of closing courts, reduced court staff.

However, during the same period there was an increase of 57% in police reports of child sexual abuse. We have discussed before the impact of the pandemic on resources, increased abuse and delays in court procedures.

NSPCC are now calling for Dominic Rabb to review and reserve the decline in prosecutions and convictions. Further they want court delays tackled and more funding for specialist sexual violence advisers to assist children during the process.

NSPCC are seeking funding from the Ministry of Justice Spending Review  to tackle the backlog of child sexual abuse cases, to fund children safe houses

However a crown prosecution services spokesman stated prosecutions had increased by 22% in the last year. Between July 2020- June 2021 the CPS stated 4347 were prosecuted which was a 84.2 % conviction rate. The year before they state the conviction rate of 2556 prosecutions was 84.4 %

We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at Alan.collins@hughjames.com or Danielle Vincent at  Danielle.vincent@hughjames.com.

Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week 2022

Alan and Feleena discuss Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week. It is a UK national week to raise awareness and provides an opportunity for any organisation or individual to engage in dialogue about the subject. For 2022 it takes place from the 7th to 13th of February.

Alan and Feleena take this opportunity to discuss some of the 2022 campaigns.

The NHS

The NHS have announced two key things. First, the NHS have created and launched, on 7 February 2022, two new clinical lead roles which will focus on domestic violence and sexual assault. These roles will work alongside the existing domestic violence support for the NHS and integrated care systems across the country.

The roles and related campaigning will highlight the specialist support offered at dozens of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) in England who are for survivors of all ages and sexes. SARCs offer confidential support (practical, medical and emotional) to those raped/sexually assaulted/abused regardless of how long ago it occurred.

The second is that there will be a £20 million funding boost for sexual assault and domestic violence services over the next three years.

A campaign video will also shortly be released which is expected to raise awareness of SARCs and answer common questions of survivors.

This is particularly vital given the fact that the number of people receiving help from NHS SARCs halved after the first lockdown compared to 2019, despite official figures showing that domestic abuse and sexual assault had increased.

Other Campaign Groups

Many campaign groups take this week as an opportunity to raise concerns over misconceptions and misunderstandings. For example, The Rowan Project an East-Anglia based charity offering free counselling for rape victims, highlighted the language we shouldn’t accept, use or normalise when it comes to sexual violence. Troubling terms include:

• underage women – “child”
• child prostitute – “victim” or “survivor”
• sex with a minor – “rape”
• non-consensual sex – “rape”

The police also often contribute to the week. The Police Service of Northern Ireland, for example, are highlighting the support available to survivors and “myth-busting” common misconceptions that prevent people reporting. The Police have been sharing figures and facts about the process and particularly about “The Rowan”, a centre for survivors. Last year the centre supported 620 people, 60% of whom were referred by the police. This shows how the police can assist in signposting and should be sought out by those who do not know where to turn, even if a criminal case cannot proceed.

We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at Alan.Collins@hughjames.com or Feleena Grosvenor at Feleena.Grosvenor@hughjames.com.

 

NHS England » NHS pledges more support for victims and survivors of sexual assault and abuse alongside powerful awareness campaign

Camilla and May back NHS campaign to help victims and survivors of abuse | NHS | The Guardian

Why the language around sexual assault is important to get right (stylist.co.uk)

[070222] Police see increase in reports of sexual offences in 2021 (psni.police.uk)

Issues Of Consent And Sexual Assault In The Film - Promising Young Woman

This week we discuss 2020 film called Promising Young Woman.

As an overview, lead character Cassie Thomas is a 30-year-old medical student dropout.  Her medical school classmate was raped at the school. As the film plot plays out you learn there was neither an investigation by the school nor consequences from the legal system of the sexual assault report, the friend sadly committed suicide soon after the assault.

Cassie spends her nights feigning drunkenness in clubs and bars, posing as bait for ‘nice guys’. They take her to their homes, push her to take drink or drugs to sexually assault her during which she is pretending to be unconscious or unable to give consent, then she reveals her sobriety and confronts them when they try to take advantage of her.

As the film goes on, Cassie finds out the rape of her friend was filmed and shared among other students who have now gone on to have successful medical careers. Cassie revisits those who were informed of the rape to see if years on their opinions has changed. Sadly, it highlights the common myth around females who have been drinking and are then sexually assaulted have consented.

It also highlights how the assault not only impacted the victim so severely but also her family and close friend Cassie for years after with her own relationships with men.

The film also plays out a scene where the Dean of the school pretends she cannot remember the allegation and then goes on to state she could not ruin the reputation of a number of boys for the allegations of one drunk female.

The film addresses important issues of capacity, consent, failures of institutions to investigate and the long-term impact of sexual abuse. Sadly, this mirrors true accounts of sexual abuse that still take place today.

This is an important film that raises a number of issues that we see time and time again. Again, this is hopefully will raise awareness of the serious implications of consent and sexual assault and common myths around if an individual has been drinking their account is consider less important.

We would advise anyone who has suffered a similar experience to contact the police to disclose your assault. Also, your local Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre.

There are a number of organisations that can be reached if the content of this podcast has impacted you.

• Safeline
• Survivors Trust
• Refuge
• Rape Crisis
• Samaritans

We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at Alan.collins@hughjames.com or Danielle Vincent at  Danielle.vincent@hughjames.com

Updates on The Prince Andrew and Manchester Footbal Club Aubuse Cases

In this podcast Alan and Dani discuss two prominent stories in the media: Prince Andrew and his case; and the failed case brought by some of Barry Bennell’s victims against Manchester City Football Club.

Prince Andrew failed to have the case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre dismissed on the basis that she was precluded from suing him having entered an agreement  with Epstein. The judge dismissed that argument. Alan and Dani discuss the latest developments and the possible paths the case may travel down.

Alan and Dani also discuss the Manchester City judgment and the fact that the judge accepted the victims’ accounts of sexual abuse but had left it too late to sue, and in any event the club would not be liable for Bennell’ crimes.

It was accepted that Bennell had sexually abused the victims, but that the club was not liable. The judge was not prepared to allow the case to proceed out-of-time not so much because of the time gap, but because of the effect of the delay on the evidence. The Limitation Act 1981 allows a claim to procced outside the 3 year time limit for bringing a claim if basically in a case such as this it is fair to do so. In Alan’ experience a judge will not agree if key witnesses are dead or potentially important evidence is missing.

Both Alan and Dani discuss how the case may have a silver lining for CSA survivors as regards bringing clams against those responsible for abusers.

Finally they were asked by a listener to discuss the access to medical records in claims for compensation.

Chris Noth Sexual Assault Allegations

This week we discuss allegations of abuse made by four women against actor Chris Noth.

Many of us will have grown up knowing Nott’s notorious character 'Mr.Big' in the hit show Sex And The City.

Following the release of the long awaited follow up programme 'And Just Like That' in late 2021, an allegation of sexual assault was made against him.

This was quickly followed by 4 other allegations of abuse stemming over a period from the 1990’s until 2015.

There have been allegations of blacklisting those women in the New York community if disclosure was made Nott’s would destroy their careers.

It is important to state at this time, these are allegations, to which no prosecution or charges have been made at the time of writing.

Following the disclosure, Noth has already had endorsements such as Peloton  commercial cancelled and has been removed from some of the marketing for And Just Like That.

Noth has released a statement which said  “The allegations against me made by people I met years or even decades ago are categorically wrong“, According to Noth, the contacts with the women in question were consensual. “These stories could have been written 30 years or 30 days ago – no always means no – that is a limit that I have not crossed. The encounters were amicable, ”said the star

Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, who played Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte in the hit US show, acknowledged the difficulty of sharing the “painful experiences”.

“We are deeply saddened to hear the allegations against Chris Noth,” “We support the women who have come forward and shared their painful experiences.

“We know it must be a very difficult thing for them to do and we commend them for it.”

We believe there will be much more published about these allegations in the coming months.

We encourage anyone who has concerns about sexual abuse to get in touch. You can contact Alan Collins at Alan.collins@hughjames.com or Danielle Vincent at  Danielle.vincent@hughjames.com

Non-disclosure Agreements In The Case Against Prince Andrew

Whatever the outcome of the application by Prince Andrew’s lawyers to get the case dismissed on the basis of the Virginia Giuffre’s settlement agreement with Jeffrey Epstein, it brings into question their legal value?

Settlement and non-disclosure agreements are commonplace. Parties in litigation who reach an agreement to resolve their disputes often enter into them, usually with legal advice, to record what has been agreed and frequently to avoid misunderstandings let alone further disputes.

Such agreements intended to be water tight may not always be so. Their validity can be questioned if considered to  be contrary to public policy for example if it was considered to be a means to avoid a serious crime from being reported, or if one of the parties entered into it under duress or lacked capacity.

Courts are reluctant to set aside or render void what is a contract or legal agreement entered into by parties, who clearly did so having made an informed decision, and particularly so with legal representation.

In cases of sexual abuse where a victim has entered into such an agreement, which in my experience is quite un-common, the effect or consequence is not to prohibit reporting to the police, on the contrary the wording is usually clear to enable that to happen, but to keep confidential the amount of compensation payable. The payer’s motive is to prevent publicity of the fact that compensation or an amount has been paid so as to avoid further claims.

The intent of the payer can be very simple of course namely settling a legitimate claim, but on the other hand it may be more complex. It could be a commercial decision having weighed-up the cost of litigating versus the cost of settling. The point being that care needs to be taken in assuming the parties motivation in settling.

In my experience such a agreements in sexual abuse cases are relatively uncommon and this is because the crime or alleged crime cannot be supressed by such means, and what can the payer do if the victim breaks the terms agreed? In theory he/she could be sued for breach of contract but that involves more expense.

In the Giuffre case we have such an agreement which on the face of it appears comprehensive, and does not prohibit disclosure of any criminal allegation to the authorities, but the interesting question is whether it is enforceable by a third party?

Epstein is not around to enforce, and so would his estate do so? The fact is that it is a third party who is not a party to the agreement which is effectively seeking to do so, and not the estate…. Arguably the wording is such that only the estate can.

2021 Podcast Episodes Review

As we approach the end of 2021, Alan, Danielle, and Feleena from our Abuse Team take a look back at some of the key stories that have featured in the HJ Talks About Abuse podcast series.

Some of the stories remain very topical such as non-consensual deepfake porn and sharing of nude images. Maria Miller MP wants there to be legislation  that prohibits the making and sharing of image based “sexual abuse”. Deepfakes are were ordinary photographs of women are taken without their consent and placed on onto pornographic images or videos. Needless to say this is very distressing and damaging for the victims, and legislation designed to combat effectively this form of sexual abuse is long overdue.

This story feeds in to the disturbing reports of children’s images being imposed on sex dolls for commercial sale. This development highlights the reality for child abuse is not a static phenomenon

The coverage of the murder Arthur Labinjo-Hughes is discussed by the team, and they explore the legal issues that arise from the involvement of social services in the lives of vulnerable children.

The team conclude by discussing the Northern Ireland and Lambeth redress schemes and the various reasons why survivors of child abuse seek redress.

To get in contact with the team, please visit our website.