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This 'bedroom tax' really hits a new low and has to be the worst piece of legislation to pass through a so-called modern democratic parliament. When doing politics, I learned that the UK doesn't have a written constitution but one that is drawn from law and tradition. There is a long standing tradition in England, that an Englishman's home is his/her castle. Surely, a case could be taken against the government on the grounds that this 'bedroom tax' in unconstitutional, and as such could be thrown out by the court?? On the question of law and justice, here's another one. There is a very low percentage of conviction in rape cases, from the already very low number that actually get to court. Often in rape cases, it comes down to one persons word against another. Now, I've thought about this one a lot, there is one simple question that could be asked in court to differentiate between rape and consensual sex, and it's this. How many times did you kiss during the sexual act? It's quite simple really, because rapists don't kiss you while they're raping you? The act of love-making or sex, usually involves a lot of kissing, rape is an act of violence, there isn't much kissing involved.
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Kissing during sex isn't exactly a reliable indicator of whether or not it was consensual. Some rapists do kiss if it's part of their.. well. Whatever drives them. I don't think there's exactly a textbook rapist.

Even if kissing was a definite indicator, it's still one person's word against another. It still wouldn't work. There's also the fact that that line of questioning could cause unnecessary discomfort for the sufferer. It should simply be enough to ask whether the person put up any resistance (which would probably be evident from an immediate examination) or was in no state to consent (asleep, too drunk, drugged, etc).

Unless a woman reports it and is examined immediately after the incident, I can't imagine that there's much that can be done.

tortoise

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I'll take the bedroom tax to comment on.  In the past there has been a window tax and a beard tax which suggests that the parliment can pass pretty any tax laws it thinks fit.

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Don't forget the pasty tax!
Kathryn Johnson

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As Amy says, some rapists do kiss. There is a huge difference between a consensual kiss and one forced upon another person.

Kx