ARRRRGH!

Hello,
Quite why Julie Bindel just doesn't write 'he's only a man, throw him in the bin' for every article she writes is beyond me. Mind you it's beyond me why she gets paid to write articles at all. Anyway she's in a huff because Barry George is getting a comprehensive care package on his release from prison whereas two female characters in a play she saw didn't.



I should imagine Barry George is getting a care package because he's mentally ill and if his past record is anything to go by is likely to pose at best a nuisance and at worst a danger to women. There's also the whole being innocent thing which I would have thought might in itself be enough to entitle him to a degree of care post release (actually legally it doesn't entitle you to any care). Of course Bindel can't see a man get anything without bubbling about some woman somewhere who isn't getting something she should be. She reminds me of a bratty three year old whining about the boys getting a bigger slice of birthday cake -only somewhat less credible. Care in the community generally is a disgrace -had George received the care and supervision he needed in the first place all this might have been avoided.



We are also treated to the assertion that 'significant numbers of women in prison are there as a direct or indirect consequence of men's abuse.' Unfortunately no statistical evidence is supplied to inform the reader what a significant number is or what crimes exactly these unfortunate women are being forced to commit after being subjected to male abuse. It's a pity because this is something most people would like to see addressed. If, as Bindel asserts there are significant numbers of women so mentally frail that they cannot take responsibility for their own behaviour then clearly we'll have to look at ways of addressing their needs and means of preventing them forming inappropriate relationships with what sound like deeply unpleasant and exploitative men. Prison should not be a substitute for the psychiatric ward.


Nor are we told what the difference between prison aftercare for men and women is. Is there one? I'd love to know. Can anyone enlighten me?