A Spanish judge who asked a rape victim if she ‘tried to close her legs’ has been criticised.
A Spanish judge is under fire after she asked a rape victim if she tried closing her legs to prevent an attack.
Now, she is the subject of a campaign to have her removed from the courts.
A feminist group supporting victims of gender crime, the Clara Campoamor Association, is calling for a full investigation into the judge after what they called ‘offensive questioning’.
The victim, who is four months pregnant, came before the court to request a restraining order against her alleged aggressor.
“Did you close your legs and all your female organs?” Judge Maria del Carmen Molina Mansilla, a magistrate in northern Spain asked.
A spokesperson from the association told reporters that after a horrible ordeal, the victim was forced to make a statement before a judge who showed disbelief in her testimony.
“A clear example of this attitude is the judge’s repeated questions to the victim on whether she made any attempt to resist aggression including asking her 'did she close her legs firmly?' and 'did she close all of her female organs?',” the association president told Europa Press.
According to The Local, the association said this is not the first time the judge’s behaviour has been called offensive.
“Other women have lodged complaints about the re-victimization they experienced in this court...women are scared as to what might happen to them as victims in this court and it is de-incentivising them to report such crimes,” the association said.
The Association is calling for an investigation into the judge.
