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12 June 2009
The campaign of Linda Alsopp, the mother of a 22-year-old man who was cleared of raping a woman, is likely to polarise opinion.
She wants defendants in rape cases to remain anonymous until convicted of a crime. She says her son's life has been 'broken' by the trial.
Certainly, facing a rape charge carries a far greater stigma than most other crimes - and even when a defendant is found not guilty, many still believe there is no smoke without fire.
Shielding a defendant's name would mean an innocent man is able to return to his life without the taint of a rape charge hanging over his head.
However, granting anonymity to those accused of rape would fly in the face of the principles of open justice and surely lead to lower prosecution and conviction rates as it may prevent potential witnesses, or further victims, coming forward to give evidence.
Is the good name of a number of falsely accused men more important than the principles of justice and the opportunity to prevent a serial rapist 'getting away' with attacks that cannot be linked as the defendant has been granted anonymity?
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