Judy Finnigan is in the news for all the wrong reasons as of late. In one of her first appearances as regular panellist on Loose Women, she decided that a convicted rapist footballer should be allowed back to play professionally once his time behind bars is complete. That's fine because that's her opinion, and although I and many others believe otherwise, this on its own wouldn't have riled thousands. Some may even agree. It was everything else she said that rubbed people up the wrong way.
The reasoning behind her thoughts were that the rape that took place wasn't a particularly violent one - she even brought up the fact that the victim had been drunk at the time. This is extremely damaging not only to the woman who was raped now sat at home hearing these comments about her ordeal, but to everybody who has watched and now heard of or read Judy's words.
Trivialising rape in any form is dangerous. It paves the way for people to then go on and justify it, and before long there's a minority who air their opinions on the dark world of social media, potentially impacting the mindset of youngsters and emotionally-unstable people around the world. It's a very delicate subject. Especially for victims who haven't come forward, and now may not due to their rape being 'non-violent'.
Then there's the suggestion some may take from Judy's comments that because the victim was drunk, the rape wasn't as bad as those that take place when a victim is sober. It can even be seen by some as victim-shaming/blaming. If she wasn't drunk would she still have been raped? Perhaps, perhaps not, but a woman should be able to feel safe and drink as much as she likes without being in danger of somebody taking advantage in one of the worst possible ways. We've heard it all before. 'Women invite rape in the way they dress, the actions they take' - Bull. Rape is never invited. Rape is rape.
It's a vile, disgusting act and shouldn't be discussed by people who are on such a huge platform to share their opinions unless their words are well thought through and planned out.
To Judy's credit, she issued an unreserved apology through the Daily Mirror for offending with her comments. She was silly, but she knows that now. This is where it should have stopped. It was too late to go back and change anything.
Unfortunately, some who disagree with Judy's comments are using Twitter and other forms of posting on the internet to threaten not only her but her daughter with rape. Social media is a playground for the mentally deranged who find the biggest security behind a computer screen, and will jump onto anything given half the opportunity. They should at all costs be ignored and dealt with by the authorities privately, if they're given the chance.
If you are a victim of rape, know it is, was and will never be your fault. Tell somebody and do your best to get through this rough time in your life. The Rape Crisis hotline for Wales and England is available, with more information at http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/