Pre-Production: Research into the law

Before looking into the structure of the documentary, it was fundamental to get some research under our belts. Because of the sensitivity of this subject and how complex it is, it's important to have a full understanding of all sides of the story. A good place to start is the with the way the law is set. The names of people who have been charged for sexual assault are released to the public as it is believed to be a matter of public interest. This a a very difficult argument and there are major flaws in the system. "Nearly three quarters of the public think the identities of people arrested on suspicion of sexual assault should be kept secret until they are charged"- YouGov.uk

The public appears to be split on whether or not to release the identities of those who are charged with sexual assault, but not yet deemed guilty or not guilty in court. I looked on debate.org to see what arguments people had put forward and here 73% believe the law should be changed where they do remain anonymous. However, whilst this is a debate website it doesn't speak for the entire nation which as I said appears to be pretty split. The fact it is so split would suggest that there isn't enough knowledge of it and that people actually don't underrated the law. This would therefore back up why it is relevant now and why it needs to be shown and educated in documentary.


"45% say the identities of people charged of sexual assault should be made public before trial, compared to 43% who say his or her identity should be kept secret until a verdict is reached. Similarly, 47% say the identities of people charged with domestic abuse should be made public before they have been found guilty or not guilty, while 41% disagree."- YouGov.uk


There is no way I believe any civilised, decent human being would seek to defend anyone who has genuinely committed any real act of abuse, or broken any law which is currently on the statute books, but I think most people will agree on " innocent until proven guilty". 

We now seem have a principal of you are "guilty if someone accuses you", and the Identity as well as the history of the accuser is hidden from the public and has annomnyty for life. The majority of people, myself included would agree that giving the victim annomnyty for life is fair and just, but where the line starts to blur is releasing the identity of the accused before they are proven guilty. Now understandibly, this is done to encourage other potential victims to come forward. But what happens like in Liams case when that person is innocent and their identy has been released to the public and their name is then tarnished forever. As quoted by Jerry Hayes "there is no stigma worse".

The question remains can any of the men recently accused of historic sexual offences ever have a fair trail, when they have all ready been pilloried by the gutter press, before any judgement begins. How can a fair judgement be made, when the histories (such as how many previous accusations, and claims for compensation have been made by the alleged "victims", ) is hidden from those trying to uncover the truth? It is important to look into all arguments when documentary making not just one.

Additionally, the public is split on whether to release the identities of people charged with sexual assault, but not yet deemed guilty or not guilty in court. 45% say the identities of people charged of sexual assault should be made public before trial, compared to 43% who say his or her identity should be kept secret until a verdict is reached. Similarly, 47% say the identities of people charged with domestic abuse should be made public before they have been found guilty or not guilty, while 41% disagree.
Majorities do support revealing the identities of the accused individuals before trial in cases of alleged murder (54%) and terrorism (57%), however.

Can releasing when charged bring other victims the chance to come forward- Domino Effect?







References:

Yougov.co.uk. (2018). Hide identities until charges are made | YouGov. [online] Available at: https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2013/05/03/public-hide-identities-merely-accused [Accessed 6 Dec. 2018].



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