by John B
Jill Saward is a feminist candidate standing against David Davis in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election, on the grounds that putting everyone on a DNA database would be awesome because it’d improve rape conviction rates.
Now, if the problem in getting rape convictions was that there were plenty of cases where DNA samples were taken but the rapist went unidentified, then Ms Saward might have a point. But in practice, this seldom happens - rapes where the victim doesn’t know who the attacker is are extremely rare, and are not the kind where getting a conviction is difficult anyway [*].
The rape cases where rapists are likely to get away are acquaintance rape cases - and in those cases there’s no dispute about whether X had sex with Y, but whether Y consented to it. Which a wacking great DNA database would do precisely nothing to solve. So nice work, Ms Saward, but no thanks…
[*] There are cases of people who’ve been DNA-tested for speeding or thieving turning out to be rapists from many years back. But these make exciting news because they’re extremely rare, which in turn is because stranger rape is also rare and is generally taken seriously by the police. Acquaintance rape is terrifyingly common and is not.
Very good point. A friend of mine was raped by her boyfriend at gunpoint. She was just too frightened to report it, and only told me several years later, on the condition that I keep it a secret and do not reveal her name, as she is now married and has a new life. This sort of thing is far more common than we think.