What simple Simon left behind... And should anybody be in any doubt, no the Daily Mail didn't improve with Heffer's departure. The shocking and appalling story on today's issue should reaffirm what a nasty little rag this is. Entitled "Spousal rape to be treated like gang rape", the writer, one Steve Doughty, is actually complaining about this. Obvioulsy for the Mail, rape isn't just rape, and if your husband sexually assaults you than that is a wholly different matter from rape by any old stranger. Meanwhile, in parts of the world like Lebanon the law doesn't even recognise rape by a husband. If he sexually assaults his wife he is simply having he way with her. Hell, she's got a ring on, that's like the keys to the car. She should do what he likes without answering back. This is not an attitude that elevates these nasty men above the animals who carry out rape in the street. The article informs us that until 1991 the same was true in Britain. No sexual assault in marriage. I'm not cynical enough to believe that the writer, in acknowledging this, is secretly yearing for the good old days. He should have just stayed away from the issue.

Of course, being strongly conservative, the Mail has long been a strong advocate of marraige, provided that it is not of the homosexual variety, which past editions claim would "devalue" the sacred bond. One hopes they would see a gay marriage as more 'valuable' than a lifetime of rape and abuse. One thing for the Mail to consider is that, although gang rape and rape by strangers is horrendous and lasts a lifetime, the victim will not have to wake up beside the abuser every morning for the course of their marriage. A wife who reports her abusive husband is just as brave as any other rape victim, and deserves the same peace of mind when justice is being delivered.  ¶ posted by the leech at 1:48 PM