IT must be terrifying to be a victim of domestic violence, wherever and whenever it happens.
Physical or sexual violence or emotional or financial abuse at the hands of someone you once loved and trusted must be absolutely heartbreaking and petrifying.
James Argent reportedly threw girlfriend Nicoline Artursson’s clothes off a balcony and pushed her so hard she fell down some steps in SpainInstagram @real_arg
GettyShabana Mahmood announced a shocking new measure which must be devastating for those victims of domestic violence in this country[/caption]
It is horrific.
But if, God forbid, I was ever in that situation, I know I’d be much better off becoming a victim in Spain than I would be in this country.
The awful case involving ex-Towie star James Argent has just proved that.
An argument turned nasty while he was on holiday in the Costa del Sol with his girlfriend, former Miss Sweden, Nicoline Artursson.
He reportedly threw her clothes off a balcony and pushed her so hard she fell down some steps.
The result of the row was Argent being charged with “mistreating” her and going before a judge in one of the special courts for “violence against women” that are spread across Spain.
Soft justice system
Argent may have no previous convictions, but the authorities there, quite rightly, made sure he thoroughly learnt his lesson the first time around.
He was given a six-month suspended sentence, a two-year restraining order to stop him even contacting Nicoline and must undertake a domestic violence course.
If he fails to attend the rehab sessions he will be slammed behind bars.
It is the right price to pay.
Thanks to Spain’s tough justice system they have seen a 5.2 per cent drop in domestic violence crimes there in the past year.
But for women in the UK it is a very different story.
There are no special court rooms set aside to protect them, and domestic violence charities say figures are on the rise here yet women are often too scared to report the abuse to police.
Is it any wonder with our soft justice system?
And on Thursday it got a whole lot worse.
Labour announced a shocking new measure which must be devastating for those victims of domestic violence in this country.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood says that, to deal with the prison overcrowding crisis, criminals will be recalled to prison for just 28 days if they reoffend or breach the terms of their licence.
Currently if they do that they would be slammed behind bars to serve the rest of their sentence.
It means abuse victims really will be living in terror all over again, while their attackers know they can offend time and time again with nothing to fear.
You’ve got to wonder if our spineless government stopped to think about them when hatching this insulting plan.
Domestic murders happen EVERY WEEK in our country.
Domestic abusers are monsters.
Domestic abusers are monsters
And they have an advantage over many other criminals — knowing where their victims and their families live, work and shop.
They know where to find them so they can hurt them again at any point.
And they can’t seem to stop themselves from reoffending. Roughly half go on to attack again within three months.
That 28-day stint just gives them time to catch up with their mates behind bars, go to the prison gym and sign up for a new course.
But it won’t be anywhere near enough time for effective rehabilitation.
They will undoubtedly go straight back out and do it all over again.
This new ruling, which is being rushed through by August, is dangerous, putting countless women’s lives at risk.
What we should be doing is following in Spain’s footsteps and attacking the attackers — instead of the victims.
Not keeny on Becky’s old bikinis
FAIR play to Becky Vardy, who is flogging her old bikinis on Vinted.
She’s got a hefty £1.4million legal bill to pay from the Wagatha trial – and as the saying goes, if you take care of the pennies, the pounds will take care of themselves (eventually).
Flynet PicturesFair play to Becky Vardy, who is flogging her old bikinis on Vinted[/caption]
beckyvardy/InstagramShe’s got a hefty £1.4million legal bill to pay from the Wagatha trial[/caption]
But I can’t help wondering who buys a second-hand bikini.
No offence to Becky – I’m sure hers are lovely – but in my book it’s a bit like buying second-hand knickers.
Not for me.
KNEE’S UP? NO THANKS
IF you’ve never heard of Kneecap before, let me bring you up to speed.
They are a vile trio, a rap group from Belfast, who have boasted of drug-taking and are accused of shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” on stage and saying: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
PAVile drug-taking rap trio Kneecap are accused of shouting ‘up Hamas, up Hezbollah’[/caption]
But even though footage of their shocking statements is being assessed by counter-terrorism police, they’re still being welcomed with open arms to headline the Wide Awake festival in Brixton, South London, next week “after positive discussions”.
That is disgusting.
We may never know who had these “discussions” but they’ve lost their minds.
It is insulting to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess.
It is insulting to our Prime Minister, whose life could have been put in danger in the last few days when properties and a car linked to him were set on fire.
Glastonbury is yet to confirm whether Kneecap will still appear as planned next month.
I hope they don’t, nobody needs a group inciting danger taking centre stage.
They don’t deserve any stage at all.
SIMPLY STUPID
ISN’T it ridiculous that fans heading to cinemas to see a film about Simply Red are being told to beware of scenes where “people drink alcohol” and there are references to “making love”.
Silly trigger warnings are everywhere these days but this one seems kind of irrelevant when anybody going to see 40 Years Of Simply Red will be well over 40 anyway and won’t give a damn.
News Group Newspapers LtdA movie about Simply Red has a silly trigger warning[/caption]
FAT OR FICTION ALISON?
THE guessing game of “Have they or haven’t they had a slimming jab?” rumbles on.
And the latest one for me is . . . This Morning’s Alison Hammond.
RexThis Morning’s Alison Hammond has shed 11st[/caption]
She has shed 11st, looks amazing and insists it is all down to diet and exercise.
She says of the jabs: “For me, as soon as I hear any scare story, I get frightened. So I haven’t wanted to use them, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t in the future, and I certainly wouldn’t look down on anyone who did.”
In 2008, Alison lost another large lump of weight and on this occasion told her fans in a weekly magazine column that she had dropped a dress size in “one week” thanks to diet and exercise.
She was about to discuss it all in a lucrative exercise DVD, too, until it was revealed that, in fact, she’d actually had a secret £7,000 gastric band op.
Which does make me wonder if she’s telling a few porkies this time round, too.
DINNER GRATES
PRINCE Philip, Victoria Beckham, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, Kate Moss and Leonardo DiCaprio.
That would be my fantasy dinner party guest list – I’m imagining fun chats, hilarious anecdotes, and a fair bit of drinking.
GettyMarilyn Monroe would feature in a fantasy dinner party guest list[/caption]
GettyKate Moss would also be invited to the imaginary meal[/caption]
You must have played the game with friends at some point.
But I wonder, has anyone, ever, included Meghan, Harry and the Peltz-Beckhams on their wish list?
I’d rather starve.
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