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Kissed Against Her Will: A Timely Case of Victorian Assault and Abuse of Power
- smegel 10y agoWhat was the punishment for making malicious false accusations in Victorian England?
- Avawelles 10y agoSince coming forward to report sexual abuse would ruin the woman's reputation forever, she had little incentive to make a false accusation.
- singularity2001 10y agoUnless she had no reputation to begin with and could gain a lot of cash.
- Normal_gaussian 10y agoLibel and Defamation are very old. I am not in any way a lawyer, but have fallen down this rabbit hole before, the Wikipedia article has a lot of depth [0]. Essentially compensatory damages are common, punitive damages are much rarer and require proof of malicious intent. There are written examples from the 1300's onwards, though much of the law derives from older periods. The level of compensation and punishment runs parallel to that that would be received had somebody been physically attacked. Compensation is based on the immediate and future effects of damage suffered, and punishment is based on intent, relative severity, and the 'character' of the attacker. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_defamation_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_defamation_law
- dogma1138 10y agoDon't bear false witness is the 9th commandment. :)
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- Chris2048 10y ago> even in a patriarchal society where women could not vote, a forcible kiss was recognized as an assault I'm not sure this was a great statement, considering the reasoning behind the gravity of the offense...
- ap3 10y agoVery impressed by the judge's reasoning. Waiting for the Thiel brigade to comment on this one