Here Come De Judge...

A judge down south managed to shoe-horn poor Karen Buckley into a case he was trying this week. He was hearing the case of a woman who assaulted a total stranger. The victim happened also to be a woman. The attacker claimed she couldn't remember what had happened due to the amount of drink she'd taken. The judge then expressed concern that women make themselves 'vulnerable' if they get so drunk they can't remember what happened to them. A Glasgow sheriff would say something like: 'Can't remember battering this total stranger for absolutely no reason? Try 60 days in choky. That might help your memory.'

The fact is this case has nothing at all in common with Karen Buckley's case: Karen was not drunk and she wasn't the aggressor in an assault. She was the victim of a horrible murder, for which a man has been arrested and will go on trial later this year.

You'd think someone somewhere in the world of the law would have told judges by now: do not comment on social matters you know nothing about. The public already think you live in cloud cuckooland. Don't open your mouth and prove they're right.

But there are other issues.

First, this judge made the assumption that women should be treated differently from men. Not in my book. And incidentally, people like this judge need stop referring to women as 'girls'. At 21, you're an adult, not a girl. And if you've behaved violently, you should be treated as an adult.

And second, we need to reject the idea that only women are vulnerable when they're drunk. Is the judge saying that women - and only women - can expect to be assaulted physically or sexually if they drink too much? Anyone with male gay friends knows that's not the case. And is physical and sexual assault just something that happens? Do we just have to go on sending people out into the world telling them to deal with it?

Well, it will go on happening as long as we go on blaming the victims.

I'm going to take this to what I admit is a silly extreme. Let's imagine the preparations men and women need to make for a night out:

- Guys: shower, hair product, deodorant (please), decent clothes, loads of cash from the ATM for taxis to and from pub and club and for drink.

- Women: same as for the guys but maybe factoring in extra cash for the taxi to the nearest A&E after you've been assaulted, loss of wages during the time you have to take off work for ID parades, giving statements, making court appearances as a witness, not to mention loss of dignity when being examined by medics and police officers and trying to explain this to your family.

I want everyone to operate to the same rules: when you're out go with your mates stick together. That's it. You're not in charge of your friends' drinking habits. Nor are you in a position to patrol their sex lives.

The people we need to change are the small number of men who feel entitled to demand sex and who turn violent when it's refused. We can educate them out of these attitudes but not while the judges go on suggesting the problem is the victims.

It's either that or women and gay men go to work, do a wee bit of shopping (but only in daylight) and stay home the rest of the time. And strictly no drink. Why should you or I or anyone of whatever sex have to adopt that lifestyle?