Sep
2

Helen Mirren Thinks Date Rape Shouldn’t Be Illegal

filed under sexual assault

Helen Mirren Helen Mirren was recently interviewed by Piers Morgan for the October edition of GQ magazine. Her experience with being date raped came up, which she first revealed in 2003 during an interview and she stated:

“I was [date-raped], yes. A couple of times.”

“Not with excessive violence, or being hit, but rather being locked in a room and made to have sex against my will.”

Dame Helen said it was rape if a couple engaged in sexual activity but the woman said “no” at the last second.

However, she said: “I don’t think she can have that man into court under those circumstances.”

She said she had not reported her own experiences to police because “you couldn’t do that in those days”.

First off, I am glad that Mirren was not one of the millions of cases in the world where excessive violence is dominant n such a case, but in the second part of her first sentence, I find it sad that a woman who has been through such an experience is still calling it “having sex” against her will. Rape is not sex. Date rape is not sex. In almost all sexual assault cases, sex is never what someone is trying to get out of the situation; it is power over another human being by using what should be a consensual experience between two people in order to shame and violate another human being and gaining power above them.

Second of all, just because Mirren did not report her own experiences because “you couldn’t do that in those days,” makes me feel sympathy for her, especially since she has also stated being a frequent drug user and an experience like being date raped could most definitely lead a woman in the direction of addiction. However, for such a statement to be made by an Oscar-winning actress is a step backwards for people everywhere–The women who listen to her, read GQ magazine and especially for the men who read GQ magazine, as they may take her statement to heart and figure that it’s A-OK to rape a woman and that women will just let it go unreported and they won’t get into any trouble since they may think that it isn’t something that they can get convicted and do jail time for and that is sickening and also dangerous.

To clarify: If you have been a victim of rape or sexual assault of any kind, it is important for you to speak out about your experience and the experiences of millions of other people who are the victim of sexual assault in this world. It is important for you to press charges against your abuser, since most abusers go on to abuse other people throughout their lives and you most likely are not the only person who has been a victim of that person. It is equally as important for figures such as Mirren to not support women and victim-blaming, which is exactly what she is doing.

She has also been quoted elsewhere saying:

“I guess it is one of the many subtle parts of the men/women relationship that has to be negotiated and worked out between them.”

The many subtle parts of the men/women relationship? What? I would like to ask Mirren how it is possible for men and women to work a case of sexual assault out between the two of them. And what about cases where men are sexually abusing men and women are sexually abusing women? Sexual assault is not merely a “subtle part” of the man/woman “relationship” and how, exactly, would a scenario like that work?

Woman: Gee, I really didn’t appreciate being drugged and raped against my will last night.
Man: Oh that is completely understandable and I promise to never do it again. Could you please pass the sugar?

No, I don’t think so.

Via The F-Word.

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