Feminist Germaine Greer claims 'some rape is just bad sex' and says rapists should NOT be jailed
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Germaine Greer has sparked outrage after suggesting rapists should avoid jail because most rapes are "just lazy, careless and insensitive".
The feminist academic and author insisted some rapes are just "bad sex" and said society should not view it as a "spectacularly violent crime".
She suggested rapists should be given community service or a visible "R" tattoo on their hand or cheek to shame them.
The controversial 79-year-old Australian also scoffed at a study that says a majority of victims have suffered post-traumatic stress.
Greer has been criticised and called a "rape apologist" after her comments at a Hay literary festival event stunned audience members and caused an uproar online.
(Image: hayfestival/Twitter)
Safer London CEO Sherry Peck told how she was so upset that she walked out.
She tweeted: "Dreadful ramblings by Germaine Greer. I’m usually happy to listen to opinions different to my own but today after around 20 mins I had to walk out."
Anita Singh, the Daily Telegraph's arts and entertainment editor, wrote on Twitter: "Had the misfortune to listen to Germaine Greer yesterday. She seemed to be making it up as she went along."
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
Greer told the crowd that "most rapes don't involve any injury whatsoever" and said the notion that it is "one of the most violent crimes" is "bulls***".
She added: “Most rape is just lazy, just careless, insensitive. Every time a man rolls over on his exhausted wife and insists on enjoying his conjugal rights he is raping her. It will never end up in a court of law.
“Instead of thinking of rape as a spectacularly violent crime, and some rapes are, think about it as non consensual … that is bad sex. Sex where there is no communication, no tenderness, no mention of love.”
(Image: Daily Mirror)
Greer said rape is so rampant in society that the legal system cannot cope with it, and victims become "bits of evidence" in court due to the issue of consent.
She called for a radical change to the way rape is prosecuted and punished, claiming many trials were not ending in convictions due to systemic failures.
She said a fitting punishment would be "200 hours of community service", adding: "I have suggested maybe a little tattoo would be a good thing, maybe an 'R' on your hand. I'd prefer it on the cheek, really."
Related video: Eamon Holmes accuses Germaine Greer of being the "wicked witch"
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Greer was speaking at the literary festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales to promote her new book On Rape. She became a controversial figure after her first book, The Female Eunuch, was published in 1970.
During Wednesday's discussion at Hay Festival she admitted she knew her comments would be controversial and that she would be accused of “trivialising” rape.
She also told the audience about her own experience when she was violently raped and beaten at a party at the age of 18.
Greer said she decided not to report the crime to police because she felt it would be a waste of time, she would have been “discredited” and the details would have been made public.
She said she wanted to "get over it" and not live her life as a "rapee".
Her attacker later raped at least one other woman, she added.
Greer's comments about rape and her suggestion that rapists should be given lighter sentences sparked outrage online.
Prof Tanja Bueltmann, of Northumbria University, said people should stop celebrating Greer as a feminist.
She tweeted: I call for Germaine Greer to stop calling herself a feminist. Because she very clearly isn't.
"And the hailing of her as one needs to stop.
"It should have stopped a long time ago, really, but now is certainly a good time to really do it."
Writer Morgan M Page added: "Germaine Greer, whose disparaging remarks about trans women are constantly defended by English TERFs, just came out as a rape apologist."