Miscarriage of Justice. Noun - A failure of a court or judicial system to attain the ends of justice. A failure of a court or judicial system. A miscarriage of justice is frequently talked about on the news during a murder trial and someone whom was sentenced to life prior, has been released as a repercussion of wrongful conviction. It’s rarely spoken about in regards to cases that get dropped as a result of insufficient evidence and where justice is therefore not served. Cases such as rape and sexual assault are said to be one of the most difficult to prosecute as a result of it being more difficult to prove the loss of consent rather than the loss of a physical body.
In the Sexual Offenses Act 2003 Section 74 states that: "A person consents if he or she agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice." The disciplinary act of rape can vary of imprisonment from 5 years to life when convicted. The mental and emotional torment in the wake of the event is unmentionable to the victim and family alone. It starts at the beginning for the victim finding the strength to speak out and continues to the gruelling process of hospital checks, counselling and waiting on a court date that may never come. I spoke to someone whose court date never came. They have asked to stay anonymous but have agreed to make a statement regarding the recent discontinuation of their case.
“It’s humiliating. You spend hours pushing yourself, plucking up the courage to tell someone, to press charges, to be brave then six months later you get the call. The call telling you it wasn’t enough. There was nothing more they could do, the evidence was insufficient and the case was being dropped. The only thing that had been driving you for the past few months was gone. And now there is nothing I can do, I just have to move on with my life while he is out there-happy. The funny thing is I can just imagine him popping open a bottle of champagne in celebration of the case being dropped. Yes I got away with that one! Planned that one well, on to the next! And there is nothing I can do. How am I supposed to have faith in the justice system after this?”
This statement was given over two months ago and I have recently been able to catch up to see how she is. She was unable to give an updated statement but I can reveal that she is happy. She has found love outside of someone who thinks it’s okay to sexually assault someone. She has found someone who looks at her as more than a victim of a miscarriage of justice. She has found someone who sees her for her. She is happy and she is inlove. But the point still remains; maybe her story is the true miscarriage of justice we don’t hear about.
