Men are ‘getting away with murder’ by claiming they killed partners during rough sex in ’50 Shades of Grey defence’
VIOLENT men are getting away with murder by claiming they killed partners during “rough sex,” say campaigners.
They say there have been at least 58 deaths of women in the UK in which the accused has insisted the victims consented to the violence that killed them.
Campaign group We Can’t Consent To This found 45 per cent of these cases led to a lesser charge, a lesser sentence or no action at all.
And it says that since 2000 the number of accused men using what has been nicknamed the 50 Shades of Grey defence has increased tenfold.
These victims include Natalie Connolly, whose multi-millionaire boyfriend John Broadhurst left her for dead after “rough sex”.
Broadhurst got three years and eight months after a manslaughter plea was accepted.
Labour MP Harriet Harman wants an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill to ban the use of consent as a defence.
She told MPs: “Men are literally getting away with murder by using the rough sex defence.”
Fiona Mackenzie, founder of We Can’t Consent To This, said: “This is a really big issue in assaults as well — and in some cases they are getting dismissed as non-crimes.
“I am hopeful a clarification of the law will mean that these women and their families are able to get justice.”
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