The background
Respect party MP George Galloway has been heavily criticised by anti-rape campaigners and political commentators after suggesting in a 30-minute political podcast that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be accused of no more than “bad sexual etiquette.” Assange is wanted in Sweden to face allegations – which he denies – of sexual assault made by two women. Galloway said the Swedish women’s claims were “totally unproven” and the Wikileaks founder had been “set up.”
The UK government has said Assange must be extradited to Sweden despite being given political asylum by Ecuador. Assange remains in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has taken refuge.
What Galloway said
“Let me tell you, I think that Julian Assange’s personal sexual behavior is sordid, disgusting, and I condemn it,” said Galloway. “But even taken at its worst, if the allegations made by these two women were true, 100 per cent true, and even if a camera in the room captured them, they don’t constitute rape,” insisted Galloway, “at least not rape as anyone with any sense can possibly recognize it. And somebody has to say this.” Galloway said that one of the women had claimed she invited Assange back to her flat, had consensual sex with him and then “woke up to him having sex with her again – something which can happen, you know.” On the issue of whether this would constitute rape or not, Galloway suggested that “not everybody needs to be asked prior to each insertion… Some people believe that when you go to bed with somebody, take off your clothes, and have sex with them and then fall asleep, you’re already in the sex game with them… It might be really sordid and bad sexual etiquette, but whatever else it is, it is not rape or you bankrupt the term rape of all meaning.”
Offensive and deeply concerning comments
Rape charity Crisis told the BBC that Galloway’s comments were “offensive” and “deeply concerning.” “Having had consensual sex with a woman once does not give a man license to then have sex with her again at any time and in any way he pleases and assume consent is given,” a spokeswoman reminded.
A new low for Galloway, who is simply unfit for public office
A leader in The Independent insisted that Galloway is “anything but gorgeous.” The newspaper noted that Galloway “is no stranger to opprobrium, but his remarks in support of Julian Assange represent a new low even for him. That the MP for Bradford West believes the allegations of sexual assault levelled against the WikiLeaks founder to be untrue is one thing. To claim, however, that to have sex with someone who is asleep is not rape, merely ‘bad sexual etiquette’, is shameful. With a dismissive ‘these things happen”’, Mr Galloway is trivialising one of the more unpleasant crimes that one human being can commit against another. He is parroting the outdated view that a person’s body is their own only up to a point. Worst of all, he is making it harder than ever for victims of rape to come forward.” The newspaper concluded that his comments “would be deeply flawed” for anyone but, from an MP, “they are unpardonable. Mr Galloway is unfit for public office.”
The final straw that breaks Gorgeous George’s political back?
“Listen, George: it is possible to think that Wikileaks have done some good things without believing that Assange can do no wrong, or that all attempts to make him face trial are some sort of grand conspiracy,” said Tom Chivers of The Telegraph, who said that “you would think, by now, that politicians would have learned to shut up about what constitutes ‘real’ rape, ‘rape-rape’, or ‘honest rape.’” “Is this finally the straw that breaks Gorgeous George’s political back?” wondered Chivers. “After all, this is a man who was elected to political office after dressing up in a catsuit and licking milk from a saucer on national television. But surely the rape thing is an outrage too far.”
More on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks
- Julian Assange seeks sanctuary at Ecuadorian Embassy
- Assange to be extradited
- Assange and the suspension of WikiLeaks
- Assange shows up at Occupy London