Cribeo- In recent days there has been a lot of controversy in Ireland after a court acquitted a child rape defendant. During the trial, the judges used the argument that the 17-year-old victim was wearing a thong the night the assault took place. Something that the magistrates saw as a sign of consent on the part of the minor. After the sentence was many women who began uploading photos of thongs to social networks accompanied by the hashtag #ThisIsNotConsent (this is not consent).
The protest hashtag was created by a closed Facebook group called Mna na hEireann (Women of Ireland). One of the group’s participants, Susan Dillon, explained that “one of the women in the group was angry at what had happened. Like all of us. ” Hence the proposal to make a protest that showed that what women wear has nothing to do with consent. “If a jury is a representative part of the population, it is clear that we have a lot of work to do to end this myth that what you wear can incite rape,” explains Dillon.
The protest has not only taken place in the networks. In some places such as Galway, Limerick, Dublin and Cork, demonstrations have been organized, promoted by the Rosa feminist platform. “What has happened with this sentence, and particularly everything that has been said, is something endemic in our judicial system. We have decided to call these demonstrations not only to protest this particular case but also to stop blaming the victims in the courts, “explains Fiona Ryan, a spokeswoman for the platform.
