It's telling in my view that she who is proposing this idea is a reproductive rights feminist:
The age of consent for sex should be lowered to 13 years-old to end the ''persecution of old men'' in
the wake of the Savile sex abuse scandal, a leading barrister has claimed.
In a controversial intervention, Barbara Hewson, a senior barrister at Hardwicke chambers in London, also called for the end of anonymity for complainants.
The lawyer, who specialises in reproductive rights also claimed crimes committed by disgraced broadcaster Stuart Hall were ''low level misdemeanours''.
Campaigners today criticised the ''outdated and simply ill-informed'' views, which it said ''beggars belief'' from a highly-experienced barrister.
Her article also provoked an internal row within her chambers, which launched an "investigation" into the claims.
But amid the storm of condemnation, she stood by her comments today as she quoted François-Marie Arouet, the 18th century philosopher, in her bid to defend her "opinion".
Her comments come as Scotland Yard operates Operation Yewtree, an investigation split into three inquiries into allegations involving deceased presenter Jimmy Savile, involving Savile and others and those involving just others.
A number of high-profile figures have been arrested under Yewtree such as entertainer Rolf Harris, former pop star Gary Glitter, DJ Dave Lee Travis, comedian Jim Davidson and PR guru Max Clifford. All deny any wrongdoing.
In an article for online magazine Spiked, she argued that ''the post-Savile witch-hunting of aging celebs echoes the Soviet Union'' and says that it is not difficult to see why some elderly defendants ''conclude that resistance is useless''.
She added: ''But the low-level misdemeanours with which Stuart Hall was charged are nothing like serious crime.''
''Ordinarily, Hall's misdemeanours would not be prosecuted, and certainly not decades after the event.
''What we have here is the manipulation of the British criminal-justice system to produce scapegoats on demand. It is a grotesque spectacle.''
She continued: ''It's time to end this prurient charade, which has nothing to do with justice or the public interest.''
The barrister added: ''Instead, we should focus on arming today's youngsters with the savoir-faire and social skills to avoid drifting into compromising situations, and prosecute modern crime.
''As for law reform, now regrettably necessary, my recommendations are remove complainant anonymity, introduce a strict statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions and civil actions and reduce the age of consent to 13.''
Of course, lines of this sort of thinking already exist here in America, only our enlightened souls think 15 is a more mature age.
We call this progress folks.
Forward!
