And next it's Alex Salmond

This is so troubling ... we have seen accused men be found innocent, after Court Proceedings (Geoffrey Rush being an example) and many terrible men found guilty.

I wonder if it’s best, to say nothing until the investigation and legal proceedings are concluded.

I am very aware of the awfulness of sexual assault and sex crimes and the difficulty of getting cases to Court. I have some relevant personal experience and would never want to under estimate the impact on the victim.

Jabber FFS - I despair.

I’ll not tell you why I didn't complain at the time because it’s a public forum and I don’t want to post really personal stuff on here.

Suffice to say, people who are sexually abused or assaulted have very good reasons for not reporting it until long after the event - there’s lot online about it if you want to educate yourself.

I think we need to "reserve judgement" in this case until any evidence is presented in court.

As for wondering why someone would wait before making a complaint - in a lot of cases the alleged abuser is in a position of power, either through wealth or position, and we have often heard accusers saying they thought they would not be believed.

Totally with you on that Scj

Misogynists don’t want to educate themselves, they just want to carry on blaming and hating women. It’s whistling in the wind - that’s why I only posted FFS because I know there’s not a hope in hell of engaging in sensible debate with posts like that. What is that makes some women hate other women so much?

Easy to see why victims think they won’t be believed given some of the comments on here.

I think predatory men have an instinct about who they will be able to intimidate especially if they have the power to dismiss or promote individuals.

Once all this information is out in public it’s hard to see how a fair trial can be possible though.

I was thinking that both sides should have anonymity but that smacks of secret trials which isn’t good either. No easy answer is there?

If it's deemed that a trial hasn't been fair due to too much information being out in the public domain before and during the trial itself, this can result in a guilty verdict being judged unsafe on appeal, and the whole thing being thrown out.

Such an outcome is a disaster for the victims who may have to face going through the whole thing again.

Look at Cliff Richard, trial by media before charges were ever filed, and in the end they never were.

This all came out much earlier this year. Its got nothing to do with the election. I'm in a similar position to SirChenjin. There's a lot more I could say.
Check union comments on his time in office BTW.
Goodness knows where they'll find an impartial jury in Scotland!

Agree Jane - our Mr Salmond is very definitely a Marmite character.

I agree with those who think it is wrong to pass judgement before it has gone to court. We do know of people whose lives have been drastically damaged by false claims so I think we should wait and see.

I do have some difficulty with people bringing up 'sexual assault' several years later when their complaint is that a man touched them on their bottom, arm or other such fairly innocent body parts. I think DH must have touched people's backs when ushering them through doors at times.

I totally support anyone who has genuinely been assaulted but think that when claims are proved to be false (as in that Croydon young man's case) the claimant should be named and taken to court for trying to pervert the course of justice. It is simply wrong to allege a crime because you want to punish an innocent person.

So that's it. A.S is guilty of all charges before he even comes to trial?! Why bother, Gransnetters as judge and jury is all that is needed!

Jabberwok are you reading the same posts as me? Nobody has said that he's guilty. It's sub judice so we are being careful what we say.
If you Google the union issues you'll find them easily enough.

Jane there have been some quite unkind posts about him which suggest he is being judged.

It certainly does! If he's found guilty then of course the full force of the law must be brought to bear! But until then I would have thought an open mind would be appropriate!

One could argue that works both ways Jabber - for example, questioning the veracity of the women who have accused him of these charges.

We must also be mindful of the fact that sexual assault and rape cases have very low success rates - it’s one of the reasons why so few are actually reported in the first place.

Of course the veracity of his accusers have to be questioned, as do his denials. Believing one persons verdict of events and trashing anothers without due process is not justice!

Of course - and the courts will do that and as we all know they tend to find the defendent not guilty. It’s interesting though that there are women on here who are quick to question the behaviour of the women - but then I suppose the sort of person who believes Grace Millane was “foolish” would tend to do that.

As a previous poster has said : 10 women. ?

Who knows! There could certainly be a case to bear, but on the other hand there may not be. Hopefully all will be revealed during the court case, and the jury can find accordingly.

It’s plural cases, not case. Juries - as you know - find the accused not guilty in an overwhelming majority of cases.

Anyone who goes back to the room of someone they've met on line and whom they know absolutely nothing about would be foolish. Nine times out of ten it would be fine, but monsters don't actually advertise the fact, so strangers can be very dangerous however charming they appear. Don't know about you, but I certainly had this dinned into me at an early age.

You’re pinning the blame on the wrong person there Jabber - it’s a shame that whoever raised you didn’t explain the concept of victim shaming and blaming to you at an early age. They should have also explained to you that women are more likely to be raped, sexually assaulted, sexually abused and murdered by men they know.

Raised?! I'm not an American! My up bringing has served me well all my life,and actually is none of your business. End of conversation.

Yes, raised - and I don’t care what nationality you are as it’s completely irrelevant. Consider yourself educated now.