Helen Mirren - Is she wrong to speak out about rape?

USUALLY the kind of articles written about the actress Helen Mirren focus on how wonderfully she has aged and how marvellous that, at the age of 63, the Oscar winning actress can still inspire admiration and lust.

But today Dame Helen finds herself mired in controversy, after suggesting in an interview with Piers Morgan that women who have been raped should not always necessarily report the crime.

The actress revealed she had been "date raped" twice, in her early twenties, but said she did not go to the police because "you couldn't do that in those days".

Mirren's comments have provoked an angry reaction from rape campaigners, who say her words send out the wrong message to young women.

But there are others who say it is wrong to criticise the actress so harshly for discussing her own experience with such openness and courage.

In the interview for GQ magazine Mirren, who has previously said she was date raped 'several times' between the ages of 16 and 25, was clear that 'no' should mean 'no' in any circumstances. But she also suggested that if a woman consented to sex and then changed her mind that it was a 'tricky area' that should not necessarily lead to prosecution.

"I don't think she can have that man into court under those circumstances," said Mirren. "I guess it is one of the many subtle parts of the men-women relationship that has to be negotiated and worked out between them."

Mirren's suggestion that there was any kind of 'grey area' about when to prosecute a rapist has been roundly criticised by campaigners, who say it may discourage victims from coming forward.

The furore is reminiscent of the storm that erupted when feminist author Fay Weldon spoke out about her experience of attempted rape, about which she said: "Rape is nasty, death is worse… there are worse things that can happen to you."

In response to Mirren's comments no less a person than Vera Baird MP, the Solicitor General for England and Wales, has lashed out at the actress, saying: "It is a pity, because she is a much-admired person.

"We want women to report rape with the confidence that – albeit slowly – conviction rates are getting better. It really is a shame to cast doubt at the edges of what she thinks might not be rape."

In Scotland, where the current rate of conviction in rape cases is 2.9 per cent, one of the lowest in Europe, campaigners are also outraged. Eileen Maitland, Information and Research Officer for Rape Crisis Scotland says: "I think it is very disappointing. As far as we are concerned, rape is rape and it should always be prosecuted.

"Comments such as these just encourage women-blaming, which is something we are trying to overcome. If there isn't consent, it is rape – it is as simple as that. It also encourages the notion that male sexuality is some sort of runaway train that can't be stopped when it gets past a certain point."

And Jasvinder Sanghera, who runs the Karma Nirvana charity helping victims of rape and domestic violence, says: "Dame Helen's comments help reinforce the whole 'She's asking for it' mentality.

"For years we've been trying to move away from the perception that consent is dependent on what a woman wears, or how she behaves … if a person says 'no' it means 'no'."

"I'm disappointed by the suggestion that date-rape victims shouldn't bother with the courts," she adds. "We have such a low prosecution rate for rapes as it is. It's such a harrowing ordeal for rape victims to go through the judicial process that the last thing we need to do is discourage them."

What was startlingly lacking from those who criticised Mirren's point of view was any acknowledgement that the actress should be respected for having the courage to speak her mind.

But Avedon Carol, author and co founder of Feminists Against Censorship, says Mirren should be honoured for speaking so openly.

Like Mirren, Carol was 'date raped' by a former boyfriend, but did not press charges.

"I was raped, I lost about a year of my life – but I started to come back together again. I can still listen to Beethoven, I still enjoy my roses. I'm not dead."

"If you are the victim of a crime your needs are important and, if he is not going to go to jail, what is the point? Yes, it is rape; yes, it should be stopped, but do I want to go to court and relive the whole thing? Is it going to be worth it?"

The author and campaigner believes there is a refusal among rape campaigners to acknowledge that sometimes taking a case to court may do more harm than good.

"I think it is time people admitted that the idea you can always take these things to court is wrong.

"If it is your word against his, he isn't going to jail. You have to look at where these things really come from and get to the root of it to sort it out."

Carol feels that by rounding on Mirren the rape campaigners are breaking the fundamental rule that rape victims "should be listened to".

"This is her experience. She is being open and honest about it. She's saying, 'This is what I think and this is what I feel.'"

And certainly, in the interview in 2003 when she first spoke about date rape, Mirren was clear that her objective in speaking out was to help other women.

At the time she said: "What woman hasn't been in this situation? I was very wobbly about it at the time.

"Afterwards, you blame yourself and feel like crap. And we all say, 'I shouldn't have gone there, had that drink.'

"It's a non-talked about subject … I mean it's really not talked about enough. Maybe more women should."