Women Side Against Rape Victims: Mirren

Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren caused a stir in London today by saying female jurors are unlikely to side with rape victims. “Women on a rape case would say she was asking for it,” Mirren told the London Times. “The only reason I can think of is that they’re sexually jealous.” One advocate for rape victims called the remark "destructive" and said it could dissuade women from reporting the crime.

“She might have a point about women, but I don’t know what she is trying to prove by talking again about how cases are treated in the courts," the advocate told the Telegraph. Mirren, who says she has been "date-raped a couple of times," did not go to police because "it is a tricky area especially if there is no violence.” Polls show that up to a third of Britons believe rape victims are responsible for the crime if they get drunk or wear suggestive clothing.

(More Helen Mirren stories.)