Are the judiciary of this democratic country somehow going backwards to the 18th century - when it was, I believe, legal for a man to beat his wife with a stick as long as it was "no thicker than his thumb"?
Last week a judge refused a divorce to a woman who had been married for 40+ years and had plainly had enough. He opined that being in a "wretched" (his choice of word) relationship was not grounds for a divorce.
This week a woman forced to drink bleach and was physically abused by her partner is described as "not vulnerable". Ye gods! I suppose this particular judge would class a vulnerable woman as someone who is a carbon copy of the anxious, fretting, paranoid, hand-wringing Mavis Riley of Coronation Street......this judge also cited that the victim could not be vulnerable because she could have walked away. Er....not if your attacker is determined to stalk you again and again and again.