Highlights
- Scottish Rape Crisis Alliance says "there is no hierarchy of rape"
- MSP says clips were "maliciously" edited, insists every rape is "equally serious and harmful"
- Scottish Conservatives call for MSP to be suspended by party
SCOTTISH GREEN MSP Q Manivannan has apologised for the hurt caused by remarks describing rape as existing on "a spectrum", after a year-old podcast recording resurfaced online at the weekend.
Manivannan, elected as a list MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East in May, made the comments on The Subjective Space podcast before entering parliament, while discussing the rehabilitation of criminals.
They spoke of a "myth of the monster rapist" and "a demonisation of rape in the sense of it is a spectrum", adding: "It is a spectrum, none of which is any less or worse, but it is a spectrum of things that constitute one homogenised word 'rape'."
The Scottish Rape Crisis Alliance, representing centres in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and the Western Isles, rejected the framing. "We are not demonising rape. We are naming it," the group said in an open letter, insisting "there is no hierarchy of rape" and that no survivor should have to weigh whether their experience was "serious enough."
Criticism also came from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, Reem Alsalem, who said rape should never be described as a spectrum, though she did not name Manivannan directly.
Scotland's children's minister Siobhan Brown called the MSP's language misjudged, while Scottish Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives all voiced criticism.
Conservative equalities spokeswoman Meghan Gallacher said it was "deeply alarming" for an elected representative to suggest rape existed on "a spectrum of offences," and her party called for Manivannan to be suspended by the Greens.
In a statement on Monday (10), Manivannan said they were "horrified" the clips had been "selectively edited in order to mislead people and misrepresent me," and said comments confirming every rape is "equally serious and harmful" had been left out.
"I recognise that the words in the clip shared, without the full context of the conversation, have caused considerable upset. For that I apologise," Manivannan said.
Manivannan, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, said they were themselves a survivor of sexual violence and would never seek to diminish another survivor's experience.
The Edinburgh-based former writer and academic said they would welcome meeting survivor and advocacy groups directly.
