WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH 2020The domestic abuse bill does
resemble a sticking plaster
Many groups have reiterated that the bill still lacks promise of equal protection against migrant women (Getty)
HARRIET HALL
On the eve of her 22nd birthday on 1 December 2018, Grace Millane met up with a
27-year-old man on Tinder in Auckland, New Zealand, where she was travelling on
her gap year. A week later, her body was found stuffed inside a suitcase in the
mountainous Waitakere Ranges. The killer had strangled her to death during sex.The murderer invoked the “rough sex defence”, also known as the 50 Shades defence, claiming that Millane
had died accidentally during consensual intercourse. An ex-boyfriend took the stand to attest to Millane’s
predilection for BDSM, and the murdered young woman’s sexual history made headlines across the globe.
The killer had taken photographs of her corpse.
Yesterday, the domestic abuse bill – that was last year delayed during the prorogation of parliament – was