Verdict of the Week
 Rape Case ID
Following the false accusation of a sex attack on a Cambridge graduate by one of her fellow students, it has brought into the spotlight, once again, the anomaly of the fact that the accuser can claim anonymity but the accused is allowed to be named and shamed even before the trial. This throws the accused into the public arena and media spotlight labeled as a possible rapist. Even if they are then proven innocent, the question mark often remains unfairly over their name.
Surely the basis of our justice system is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. It should be no different in a rape case trial, where one party is granted anonymity and the other not, surely tilts the balance of justice and leaves the law open to terrible abuse, as has been highlighted many times since the anonymity law was changed in 1976.
These are obviously sensitive issues and the law was changed to make it easier for women to come forward in rape cases, but the law not makes it unfair towards the man accused.
The eCourt Verdict, therefore, is that this is unfair and unjust and as such should have no place in British law.
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