SEXUAL violence survivors are set to challenge a controversial protest against a group that has been condemned for targeting women who have spoken out about abuse.
Justice for Innocent Men Scotland (JIMS) have planned a “silent protest” outside of the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday September 9 claiming to represent “innocent people caught in broken justice systems”.
However, the group have been accused of trolling rape survivors, which they deny, and are due to be met by a counter-protest organised by Justice for Exploited and Mistreated Survivors (JEMS). The group says some members have been targeted online by JIMS supporters.
Ellie Wilson, 27, said she was labelled as an “attention seeker” in the wake of her rapist's conviction, told the Daily Record: “All of us survivors have come together because we’ve faced targeting by this group.
“They’re gathering for their protest so we thought it was important that we show survivors solidarity.
“Our aim is to call out victim blaming and show survivors that we stand with them and stand together.
“We stand against any sort of behaviour that tries to blame them for what happened.
“It’s so difficult in this country to get a guilty verdict in the first place. So to go through that then be told this didn’t happen to you, in quite a public way as well, just isn’t acceptable.
“It’s bullying and it’s public humiliation. It shouldn’t be happening and we believe that the majority of Scotland does stand with survivors and we want to show that.”
In 2022, Daniel McFarlane was sentenced to five years in prison for raping Wilson twice while they were both students at Glasgow University. Wilson, who waived her anonymity to fight for change in the justice system, said supporters of JIMS accused her of trying to “gain fame” and make money.
She added: “It’s so difficult in this country to get a guilty verdict in the first place. So to go through that then be told this didn’t happen to you, in quite a public way as well, just isn’t acceptable.
“It’s bullying and it’s public humiliation. It shouldn’t be happening and we believe that the majority of Scotland does stand with survivors and we want to show that.”
“I think people feel more empowered to say or do things online, which is leading to a lot of this horrible behaviour,” Wilson added.
“We definitely have lots of interest (in the counter protest), so I think it will be quite likely that we get more numbers than they do.”
On social media, JIMS advertised the protest as a “peaceful” gathering on International Falsely Accused Day to “stand up for justice, truth, and the many innocent lives being quietly destroyed by a broken system”.
The post continued: “This is a lawful, peaceful protest and we will stand united for those who can’t. For families shattered by wrongful convictions. For truth. For fair trials.”
They added that they had informed the authorities of the counter-protest plans and that Holyrood security is “reviewing the matter”.
One of JIMS arguments is that, because of the Criminal Procedure Act, crucial evidence is being ignored. It was designed to protect victims from intrusive questioning.
“We fight for fair trials and against wrongful convictions in Scotland,” their Facebook page states.
“We challenge the misuse of the corroboration laws, Moorov Doctrine and Sections 274/275, which undermine justice and deny the accused a proper defense.”
Rape cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute, and in 2021-22 only 48% of cases that made it to court resulted in a conviction.
