"Oxford student Lavinia Woodward spared jail for knife attack"

Absolutely agree with you devongirl. Would the sentence have been different if she had been male? I cannot help thinking so.

Hopefully the prosecution will appeal an undeservedly lenient sentence.

Ridiculous.
If she had been an inner city "lad" they'd have been down on him/her like a ton of bricks.
I think she has even LESS excuse because she has a brain, is articulate and can't plead a deprived and brutalised upbringing.

It seems she had/has a Class A drug addiction which was thought to be the cause of her actions. Would that stand up as a mitigating circumstance if she was a lad from the inner city? - I doubt it. And would that lad have proper access to help with his addiction? - I doubt it.

She wants to be a surgeon, which seems a bit ironic as she carved up her boyfriend's leg.

I suspect the university will not have her back - they have standards to uphold.

What a waste.

She's also from a very wealthy family and had a QC representing her. It will be interesting to see how the GMC regard her - she now has a criminal record and substance misuse problems, both of which have the potential to affect her registration. Apparently her QC said at the sentencing hearing that she couldn't go out clubbing in London now without being recognised. Tough life and you do wonder how wise it is to go out clubbing when you have alcohol/drug problems - I rather though nightclubs made access to both these rather easier

If I were a potential patient of hers, the fact she hadn't been to prison would be neither here nor there. The truth is, she's been convicted of a violent crime and that says it all!

I don't think brains/beauty or privilege were taken into account. This was the sentence expected, as it's in line with sentencing guidelines. Here's an excellent article, written a few months ago by a barrister.

thesecretbarrister.com/2017/05/16/an-oxford-medical-student-stabbed-her-boyfriend-with-a-bread-knife-so-why-is-she-not-going-to-prison/

I think this case has received so much press attention is because it's a woman at Oxford. A man stabbing/hitting/violently assaulting a partner is not news, because it happens so often.

What caught the news was the judge saying that the defendant was an extraordinary able young lady and a custodial sentence would damage her hopes of becoming a surgeon.

Up to that point it was just an ordinary case of only local interest.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.