the times | Tuesday August 11 2020 1GT 3
times
— and vindication at last
evidence showing I was incapacitated.
However, it eventually emerged that
he had taken the video. At the very
least, I believed he would be charged
with a minor sexual offence, namely
voyeurism. These hopes were quickly
extinguished.
In November of 2016, when I sat
down to discuss the video with the
CPS, they told me in no uncertain
terms that there was nothing illegal
about taking a video of someone
naked without their permission, if
you’re in the same room. That you
have no reasonable expectation of
privacy at that point.
This decision by the CPS was wrong.
But it took me and my wonderful
supporters at the Centre for Women’s
Justice many more years, a judicial
review and eventually intervention in
a criminal appeal case that clarified
the law on voyeurism for prosecutors
to admit their mistake and charge
him. Which finally led to Thames
Magistrates’ Court last week.
In some ways I have been fortunate.
I have had the ability and the support
needed to piece together everything
that happened to me, drawing on this
man’s statement, other evidence the
police gathered, the CCTV footage
and more. And I have been able to
prove that the CPS was wrong, and in
the process change the way the law isapplied so that other victims who have
had a video taken of them in similar
circumstances will be able to report it
as a crime.
But the fact that I have had to fight
so hard, and that I have had to waive
my anonymity, shows how broken our
criminal justice system is, particularly
when it comes to sexual offences.
In the past five years I have learnt
more than I ever could have imagined
needing to know.
I’ve learnt too that many victims of
sexual offences suffer from PTSD, just
as I do. And that the way I responded
to what was a deeply traumatic and
shocking event made the police write
down that I was difficult, as they so
often do.
And I have thought long and hard
about the nature of consent. It is now
conceded by everyone, including the
CPS and even the offender, that I did
not and could not have consented to
the video being taken. Yet the CPS
decided that I could and did consent
to sex, even though I could not stand
and passed out halfway through. This
has to be wrong. It has to be an area
where attitudes change — not just the
attitudes of the police and the CPS,
but of society as a whole.
It has been five long years for me. I
am delighted with what happened last
week. It feels good that some of the
truth of what happened that night has
finally been officially acknowledged.
But we still have a lot more to do.
crowdjustice.com/case/emilyhunt/Emily Hunt. Left:
Christopher Killick
pleaded guilty to
voyeurism in court
last weekWhen he was interviewed by the
police immediately after that night he
said that he had asked me if I was on
drugs (I was not; I have never used
drugs in my life). He also told officers
he thought I might be mentally ill.
Yet despite that, he still thought it was
appropriate to take me to a hotel room.
The CPS eventually decided that it
had been consensual sex. Errors were
made in ordering toxicology reports
to see if I had been drugged, and in
the end these were inconclusive. (I
had had lunch with my father in a
restaurant earlier in the day. Strangely,
he also had only hazy memories of
that day, including getting to the
airport and taking his flight back to
Ireland.) But the police tested my
blood alcohol content successfully
and it was only twice the legal limit for
driving — not considered high enough
to make me incapable of giving
consent. So there was to be no charge
of rape, notwithstanding all theCOVER: JUDE EDGINTON FOR THE TIMES MAGAZINE. BELOW: DAN JONES FOR THE SUN
What is it about celebrities?In what context?
Domestic chores.
Well, that’s easy. They don’t do them.
I assume.They do actually. But only for the
benefit of Instagram.Oh no. Not again. Who this time?
Goldie Hawn.
Goldie! I like her. What has she
prepared for us — a segment on
polishing her Golden Globe?
Arranging shoes in her walk-in
wardrobe? Organising her staff
by height?Duller. Washing dishes.
Yawn. Who cares?
Exactly. No one normal films
themselves doing these things. And
yet Hollywood folk seem to think
themselves so interesting that they
can spice up the most mundane
tasks for our viewing pleasure.Isn’t that the whole point of
Instagram?Yes, but celebs are the worst
offenders in this case.Pray, speak of Goldie’s washing-up.
She’s doing it with Outkast’s Hey
Ya! playing on her speakers and
dancing around her sizeable
kitchen. Which is fine. But the
caption she used for the video
reads: “Washing dishes doesn’t have
to be a chore, it can be a dance!”Right. As said by no one who
actually has to wash up after
every meal, ever.This is my point. It’s like when
Sarah Ferguson filmed herself
mopping. Remember that?Yikes. Yes. Why do they do it?
I can only assume they think it
makes them look down-to-earth
or — shudder —
relatable.They must stop
with that
nonsense. Also, it
doesn’t. It makes
me feel bad that
I don’t enjoy
cleaning.
Besides, can’t
they see
we have
an appetite
for their
La-La-land
lives? That
we don’t
actually
want them
to be just
like us?Hear,
hear! Give
me Gwyneth
and Goop any
day over that.Hannah Rogers
The lowdown
Goldie Hawn
t a I b a d t c o
At worst, I was
treated as a
liar and an
attention-seeker
dder —
t stop
Also, it
makes
d that
oyan’t
e
d
tm
e
eth
any
hat.Rogers