Grace Millane: why is ‘rough sex’ a defence?

Beyond Today

BBC

News

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2019

⏱️ 21 minutes

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Summary

Last Friday a 27-year-old New Zealand man was found guilty of the murder of British backpacker Grace Millane. During the trial questions were raised over how the press covered the case and how the defence was put together. Campaigners say Grace was blamed for her own death and that other assailants are claiming their victims simply enjoyed ‘rough sex.’ We speak to BBC producer Simon Atkinson who covered the trial in Auckland and discuss why Grace Millane’s sexual history was brought up in court. We also speak to Alys Harte, a journalist for BBC 5 Live Investigates, about her research into the changing attitudes of women towards gagging, choking, slapping and spitting. The responses raise important questions about unwanted violent sex and consent. We also speak to Anna-Louise Adams who has first-hand experience of choking in the bedroom. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Producer: Lucy Hancock Editor: John Shields Special thanks to: We Cant Consent To This, The High Low.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:04.6	Hello, I'm Tina Dejini.
0:08.6	Welcome to Beyond Today, where we ask one big question about one big story.
0:20.3	Today, Grace Mullane, why is rough sex a defense?
0:27.0	You've probably already heard about the brutal murder of backpack of Grace Mullane in New Zealand
0:37.3	while on a tinder date the night before her 22nd birthday. Last Friday a 27 year old New Zealand man was found guilty of her
0:46.7	murder. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Adern apologized on behalf of the
0:52.3	country.
0:53.0	Your daughter should have been safe here and she wasn't and I'm sorry for that.
0:58.0	During the trial a public debate began.
1:00.0	This murder had nothing to do with her interest in BDSM.
1:05.0	No, I'm not saying it did.
1:07.0	Over why details of her sexual preferences were being reported.
1:11.0	You might have thought, oh, okay, okay well maybe it was just a tragic accident and then
1:16.1	when you read more about it of course it becomes apparent that this is not something that
1:18.7	could have happened through consensual safe play.
1:20.9	Well today we're going to look at why Grace Menaine's sexual history came up in
1:25.2	her murder trial. We're also going to talk about some research, about our attitudes
1:30.1	towards sex commissioned especially for the BBC.
1:34.0	20% of the women asked had said that their partner had spat on them during sex.
1:41.0	Before we start, we should say we aren't going to hear some graphic evidence from the trial
1:46.6	that contains detailed depictions of sexual assault and violence.
	...

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