I'm tempted to call him a 'so-called' judge but basically he's a disgrace to the bench

As my DH said "if someone walked up to me in the street and hit me over the head with a cricket bat, would the fact that I am a big strong-looking man mean it was not a serious assault?"

There is a petition about this on change.org

Bleach and a cricket bat sounds more like GBH than ABH. Also if he "made" her drink the bleach there is a control issue I fail to see how the husband's alleged connections with a cricket club could be used to deny justice to the wife in this case. Either there is more going on here than has been reported or the judge is unfit for purpose.

Indeed Rigby that is exactly why the judge spoke as he did - my point is that the fact that these acts of violence took place in the home is irrelevant and the man should have been sentenced according to his actions alone. The judge has got this very wrong.

I've signed and shared the petition.

I believe Luckygirl is correct, if the violence was called just that, leave out the "domestic" element.

Years ago, domestic abuse was dismissed routinely as "only a domestic". The change in approach by agencies, particularly the police, led to the term "domestic violence" or "domestic abuse". I fear that the very word domestic, implies some kind of happy hearth where things have momentarily gone awry. In fact, domestic abuse is some of the worst violence and emotional abuse seen by professionals, including the police. 2 women a week are murdered by partners, they are especially at risk at the point of separation.
I find it impossible to believe this Judge hasn't been on various courses that spell this out in Capital Letters.

Re the bleach. Where I used to work (mental health charity) a client used to scrub his flat, his clothes and himself in bleach. He washed his food in it. Cleaned his teeth, and eventually started drinking it so he could be clean inside and out. Luckily he could only afford cheap bleach and luckily he was open about his problem so accepted help and long term damage was limited but I was amazed how well he survived.

I'm not disagreeing at all with Lucky and Iam but in law we don't differentiate do we, it's the media that use the term DV, isn't it? There isn't a crime called domestic violence is there? But what there is is a mindset in certain parts of society that dv is different, and to be judged differently.

My immediate response to this story was shock and disgust at the Judge's comments. A woman is vulnerable to a bigger, stronger man regardless of her intelligence. Violence is not acceptable in any form.

Then I stopped to consider the wider picture. I know of several young women who have lied about abuse. One young man I know was convicted in court, when in fact he was holding her back from punching him! Her physical attacks on him had been witnessed previously but this was not mentioned in court and the way she acted, looking terrified, swayed the judge and jury. Another man was accused of bullying because he insisted on seeing his children. She smashed her phone into his face but he did not report it, so there is no legal record.

No I was not there on these occasions (and others I have not mentioned) but neither has a jury nor a judge. They have to decide after listening to the stories from both parties. Both are capable of lying and it could be said that an intelligent woman would be able present a very convincing lie.

I am NOT saying that this lady is lying but when it is one person's word against another's it is very difficult to get to the truth without concrete evidence which is rarely available in these cases. (It may have been in this case but I do not know all the details.)

My first reaction was the same as most. What was the judge thinking of? It was abuse. And to say it couldn't be because the victim is intelligent not only belittles her but every other female victim by suggesting that if you suffer domestic violence you must be thick and stupid. That really will encourage people to come forward. But then I did start to wonder why such blatent abuse was let off so lightly? What don't we know?

FFS Grandma he was found GUILTy. Yes I am shouting. So you think this is how the system should work Ap - man found guilty, Judge thinks wife was probably lying and he's not guilty, oh I know what I'll do, I'll treat him leniently and use her education as an excuse. Bloody hell - who needs men to be mysoginist when women like you exist?

We know everything because it was in open court - He deceived a too light sentence because a) he was charged with ABH and not GBH and b) because the judge has strange ideas about what constitutes 'vulnerable'. What is it with some women on here that try to look for explanations that excuse the vile behaviour of men?

Deceived = received <sighs>

Sorry for not giving a link, maybe a more technical person can do it. the Secret Barrister posted on this case. S/he says the judge can recall the case and resentence given the lie about the career with Leicester cricket team. Also, expresses surprise the CPS went for a ABH rather than GBH. The barrister sets out the legal meaning of 'vulnerable' which helped me understand why and how the Judge addressed that.

Grandma- the perpetrator pleaded guilty. I wonder if he said he'd plead to the lesser offence of ABH and that's what went before the Judge. I suggest you remember that two women a week are murdered by partners and are most at risk when they separate.

Rigby No need to shout. I agree with you that the Judge's comments were disgraceful and as I said, violence is never acceptable. I also said I did not know the details of this case so could not really make further comment on the individuals.

However I did quote cases I did know a lot about to bring some balance. Yes there are vile men whose actions cannot be excused and who should be punished. I would never make excuses for abusive behaviour, but also there are women who pretend to be vulnerable and who are manipulative, as I have witnessed. Two young men I know have committed suicide after accusations and another is on medication for depression.

Iam The fact that women are more at risk of murder by partners or ex partners is horrific I agree. In our local area a woman known for abusive behaviour in the past stabbed and killed her husband. He was a solicitor. Less common I know but shocking nonetheless.

Violence and abuse is unacceptable whether it be by men or women. That was the point I was trying to make.

Well Grandma I think your comments were not appropriate for this particular case we were discussing and are exactly the type of goady comments that misogynists make to undermine a truly dreadful situation. Of course some( very few) women lie, of course some women attack or murder their partners but the vast vast vast majority of all acts of violence are committed against women by men. Full stop

Given that in Russia all domestic violence has now been decriminalised (according to last week's Channel 4 Unreported World) this judge's response is truly frightening. Are we going down the same road as Russia in this matter?

Yes it's true about decriminalisation and I've also read that attacks have gone up - who'd have thunk it?

rigby it is true that there are more reported incidents of abuse by men towards women but I'm also aware...and have first hand knowledge...that many men would not report an attack upon them by a woman.
I had a male friend who took his life last year after long term emotional and physical abuse by his wife. I also dealt with a case where 2 small children were hurt during a DV incident. The father was arrested and in custody when I interviewed him. He confided that his wife regularly assaulted him and on this occasion he was able to show me huge swellings on both shins where she repeatedly hit him with a poker. He had lots of bruising to arms, spine and legs. He was subsequently released but his wife wasn't charged!
I can recall many instances of abuse by women.
I don't think everyone should be so hard on grandma she's only making a point, as we're all entitled to do in this forum.

I agree there are unreported dv case - but on both sides- although I agree with men there is the 'shame' factor The figures for unreported partner rapes ( as with all rapes) must also be very unreported and women can't rape. But where your argument most clearly falls down is in the murder statistics which are pretty accurate. ONS figures show that 44% of female murder victims are murdered by their partners whereas the figure for men is 6% of male murder victims murdered by their partners. Family annihilations are mostly carried out by men as are most violent crimes in general. We simply cannot get away from the big picture of male violence and much of it against women. So when we discuss suitable punishments for these men and decry the judge's remarks, it really is misogynist to come on here and say women lie about being abused and women abuse as well . Of course but that's not huge problem that male violence is. A thread on female violence and its treatment by the criminal justice system could be started.

I agree with Grandma23, violence and sbuse are unacceptable, numbers do not make them more serious crimes . Being driven to Suicide is realy being murdered

A single episode of DV or murder is equally serious of course it is but when the numbers are so skewed as they are between male and female, society has to engage with the differences, what causes them and what might make a difference. Women are hugely more at risk than men and you can't just look at it as a generic violence problem. Generally ( and I don't of course mean in all cases) women are physically weaker, often have access to smaller financial resources and have children to worry about. So yes larger numbers do make the overall problem more serious but not the ii pact on the individual. These are two separate issues - the societal and the individual.

Of course DV is totally unacceptable regardless of gender but murder statistics are only one aspect of this. What about the high incidence of male suicide? There are many examples of men who are not allowed contact with their children following separation and false accusations from their ex partners resulting in men who have attempted, threatened and sadly taken their own lives in their despair.
As for women not being able to rape, not in the eyes of the law, but they can certainly be guilty of sexual assault. They don't need a penis to rape, but can and do use other implements. There is recent research that sexual abuse by women is much more common than was previously thought.
Understudied Female Sexual Predator
'According to new research, sexual victimization by women is more common than gender stereotypes would suggest.'
Food for thought.?

Of course the high rates of male suicice is a real a cause for concern As are suicide rates in prisons and YOIs. But again it's a separate issue. And women can't rape - we should use words accurately on here. They can as you say be charged with sexual assault. Have you a link to the statistics on causes of male suicide and what % are as a result of being denied access to thrir children?

I still cant work out why the law allows vulnerability (or not!) of the victim to have any relevance whatever to the sentencing ...its the actions of the fond guilty perpertrator that are relevant to that surely!

Re the judge and the cricketer...........there is a theme running through recent court cases. It seems to be saying;

If you get too drunk to stand up, the law can't protect you from being exploited.

If you agree to sexually explicit photos being taken of yourself during sex, the law can't protect you when they appear online.

If you are smart enough not to stay with a man who treats you badly physically and emotionally, the law can't protect you when he abuses you.