Rape victim isolated - What caused these delays?

WHEN women’s rights are being discussed some of us are not slow to criticise other cultures and traditions.

Burkas are dismissed as being oppressive. We are appalled by the illegal treatment of widows in parts of India — they burn them alive. We are indignant that some rich societies define educational limits by gender. Some even preclude women from driving cars or appearing in public without family supervision.

Today’s story about the difficulties in bringing a prosecution against a man accused of raping a girl over a period of 12 months, and the great difficulties faced by her family in getting appropriate medical support, suggest that we should first put our own house in order.

These failures, unless there is a compelling reason for them, mark us down as an uncivilised and dangerous society and they must be addressed immediately.