For centuries, the fundamental principle underpinning British law has been ‘innocence until proven guilty’.

Nothing in the judicial system is more basic or more sacrosanct. But the insidious spread of a culture — inevitably driven by social media — that encourages us to see every woman as a potential or actual victim is destroying that foundation stone.

Increasingly, from the moment an allegation of rape is made, the police and judiciary tend to use language that implies it is based on fact and that all men are potential predators of women.

Increasingly, from the moment an allegation of rape is made, the police and judiciary tend to use language that implies it is based on fact and that all men are potential predators of women (stock)

This, I believe, is part of a dangerous trend being pushed by feminists that casts women as innocents incapable of lying. As I argue in my latest book, Women Vs Feminism, this does a deadly disservice to the causes of equality and justice.

The case of Liam Allan, the 22-year-old undergraduate arrested after an ex-girlfriend filed six charges of rape and one of sexual assault against him, is a stark warning of the dangers to both individuals and to society as a whole.

Scorned

Thankfully, the case was thrown out, but in the previous 14 months Mr Allan’s life had been made a misery as he faced up to 20 years in jail.

Even now, his reputation is badly battered. His mother said: ‘The assumption is there’s no smoke without fire. In the current climate, in these sorts of cases, you’re guilty until you can prove you are innocent.’

Only after months of ‘mental torture’ was the public able to learn more about the false rape allegation. It appears an ex-girlfriend had been angry with Mr Allan, perhaps because he had ended their relationship, and seemingly sought vengeance.

This, I believe, is part of a dangerous trend being pushed by feminists that casts women as innocents incapable of lying. As I argue in my latest book, Women Vs Feminism, this does a deadly disservice to the causes of equality and justice (stock)

The fury of ‘the woman scorned’ is as old as the hills but women have now found a dangerous new outlet in the form of a justice system that has been tampered with by feminists to fit their agenda.

Most worryingly, this case is far from unique. I recently spent a week in court, watching the trial of a young man accused of rape. The experience shocked me.

First, the alleged victim and the accused were treated very differently. The young woman — rape victims are, of course, always anonymous — was called by her first name and treated deferentially by the barristers and judge.

The young man was treated almost as a criminal from the start. He was addressed by his surname and, to me, it seemed a subliminal sub-text was ever-present — that there was no doubt he had committed the crime. In the end, however, the jury found him not guilty by a unanimous verdict.

Undoubtedly, the court experience for any rape-accuser is not pleasant, but unlike the men in these two cases, they will not risk facing long-lasting shame for simply being charged with rape (even though both accused men were cleared).

More pertinently, neither woman will suffer for having brought the accusations, because the public will never know their identities — unless, as happens in rare cases, they are taken to court for making false accusations.

How is this equality? How is this fair? How can this be called a victory for feminism?

As a woman, I believe it is demeaning to all women that the police and judicial system seem to encourage people to believe all accusations of rape — even if unproved.

It is as demeaning as the way, in the past, some police treated rape victims insensitively or, worse, routinely dismissed women’s allegations of sexual assault. Such appalling behaviour, quite rightly, led to a change in the way rape victims were interviewed and treated.

But to go too far the other way — for example, to pretend women are incapable of telling lies — is to imply absurdly that women are more morally virtuous than men. This is disgracefully belittling of women.

Indeed, it treats them as if they are fragile china dolls, incapable of standing up for themselves. If that’s what modern feminism wants, I can imagine nothing more damaging to women.

But the tragedy is that such a culture is not just being promoted by feminist academics but is being encouraged by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Alison Saunders.

The case of Liam Allan, the 22-year-old undergraduate arrested after an ex-girlfriend filed six charges of rape and one of sexual assault against him, is a stark warning of the dangers to both individuals and to society as a whole (stock)

In what seems to be a personal crusade, our top prosecutor has continually pushed for more rape prosecutions and has recently suggested a rape acquittal did not mean the alleged victim was not telling the truth.

Inevitably, such a policy will increase the tendency for women to be believed while evidence to the contrary is downplayed (or even buried, as in the case of Liam Allan) if only to increase conviction rates and meet targets.

Indeed, in the case of Mr Allan, this may have made police reluctant to investigate text messages sent by his accuser that eventually proved his innocence. Police initially told the defence the texts were ‘not relevant’ because they were ‘too personal’.

Vociferous

Once the texts were revealed to the court, the case collapsed within minutes — no wonder when one of them about her experience with the man she accused said: ‘It wasn’t against my will or anything.’

In some vociferous quarters of social media, merely talking about such issues surrounding claims of rape is considered a crime against feminism.

Just as we are encouraged to accept blindly the claims of all ‘rape victims’, the assumption is that we must not challenge the notion that all men are potential rapists. Feminists are quick to tell us that a so-called ‘rape culture’ pervades everyday life — that the lyrics of songs, pictures on advertising billboards and the language used in day-to-day conversation all legitimise the culture that makes rape acceptable.

This way of thinking assumes a friendly pat on the arm is on a par with sexual assault.

As a result, men risk being sacked or taken to court for such ‘inappropriate touching’ on the word of women who (for all we know) might have tacitly encouraged the advances, or who might even be lying.

Thankfully, the case was thrown out, but in the previous 14 months Mr Allan’s life had been made a misery as he faced up to 20 years in jail. Even now, his reputation is badly battered. His mother said: ‘The assumption is there’s no smoke without fire. In the current climate, in these sorts of cases, you’re guilty until you can prove you are innocent.’ (stock)

Revenge

In recent weeks, as part of the #MeToo phenomenon in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood sex scandal, countless women have come forward to accuse men of inappropriate sexual behaviour, often relating to incidents many years ago.

Some of these cases will be genuine, where a woman feels able to speak out at last in the belief that what was truly a sexual assault will be taken seriously and the man forced to face up to what he did.

But others may use the new openness to their own advantage — to get their own back, to score a point, to exact revenge. (Of course, it must be said that men are capable of doing the same, but the fact is they rarely complain about sexual assault by a woman.)

Young people are growing up in a world where ‘rape culture’ is assumed to be prevalent with university students having to attend compulsory ‘consent classes’. In previous generations, it was assumed that any young man who needed a tutorial in how not to commit sexual assaults should not be at university in the first place.

Today’s #MeToo movement, and the assumption that rape is prevalent, means anyone who doubts a woman when she says she has been raped is compounding the crime.

This is the justice of the lynch mob. And if it is allowed to continue by the police, the DPP and the legal establishment, it will set back feminism for years and damage the lives of all women.