Domestic violence

Friday

Katherine Dee

Shouldn’t the Justin Roiland controversy be bigger?

From our US edition

This week it was reported that Justin Roiland, the co-creator and star of the smash-hit animated sitcom Rick and Morty, is facing two felony domestic charges in Orange County related to an incident in January 2020. According to court records, Roiland is charged with “domestic battery with corporal injury” and one count of “false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit.” Some documents related to the incident are sealed, meaning the full details of his case aren’t publicly available — but if convicted, Roiland could face several years in prison. Shortly following this news, several women online accused Roiland of online harassment. And not just harassment, but bona fide creep behavior.

justin roiland

Tuesday

Julie Bindel

Domestic violence affects us all

Since the first Covid-19 lockdown last year, cases of domestic abuse and subsequent deaths have risen. In England and Wales, a woman dies as a result of domestic violence every three days. But the reality is that few perpetrators are arrested, let alone charged and convicted. The rise in cases is beginning to worry government ministers, which is no surprise given domestic abuse has never been properly tackled. Cabinet office minister Michael Gove has been planning how best to use existing powers to tackle this shadow pandemic. Ideas include a minimum standard for police and other criminal justice agencies to increase prosecutions and better protect the victims.

Monday

Julie Bindel

Non-fatal strangulation needs to be a more serious offence

Imagine this: you are a victim of domestic violence, and your partner regularly strangles you to the point of unconsciousness. During each attack you think you are about to die. You lose control of your bladder during these attacks, and afterwards find it hard to speak, feeling like you have swallowed broken glass. You suffer from flashbacks and live in fear of the next attack, imagining that this time you will never regain consciousness. Being strangled during a domestic violence attack is as common as it is terrifying. Police routinely fail to recognise its seriousness.