This week it was revealed that a number of rape victims have had their payouts cut by the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority after being told their drinking was a ‘contributing factor’ to the attacks. Inevitably, the story has provoked fierce debate.
Can a woman really take any of the blame if she is drunk when she is assaulted? Here, Caroline Hedges, 29, a PR account director from Clapham, South London, who was raped while drunk on holiday in Corfu ten years ago, tells her story.
Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking a great deal about the night I was raped on holiday in Corfu. It pains me to admit it, but I was drunk. Eight, vodka-based cocktails drunk.
And as much as I hate to acknowledge it, this definitely contributed to my lack of judgment in getting into such a dangerous situation. But then, in the past two days, I’ve read about the woman who had her compensation cut from ?11,000 to ?8,250 because she had been drinking on the night her attack happened. But can you ever excuse a rape?
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