Following on from Charlotte's story that highlighted those in authority abusing their power, this story that has recently come to light tells of a police officer raping a girl while in custody. The girl, a heroin addict, was told by the man that no one would believe her story over his due to her history of drug abuse and his position as a police officer. This is a sad and disgusting story, but what makes it worse is that it has taken so many years for the truth to come to light for, I expect, the precise reasons the police officer gave to the abused woman. This is reflected in Hippolytus not only in the abuse that the Goddess Aphrodite inflicted upon Hippolytus' family, but also in Phaedra's death note - she a woman who held a parental position to Hippolytus as stepmother, a position of power and influence, to Hippolytus' father if no one else. In her death note accusing Hippolytus of rape, she abuses her position and her version of events are trusted without second thought leading to Hippolytus' eventual death. Those in power have a responsibility to care for those they wield power over who are often vulnerable; the police have a duty to serve and protect the public but several articles suggest police officers abuse their position to meet their own selfish desires as my example shows. This is a worrying revelation just a few days after the Met chief calls for it to be made harder to take legal action against officers in civil actions - if police officers cannot be trusted not to abuse their power, giving them more rein to act above the law without as much fear of legal repercussions is a dangerous direction to take.
Rich
No comments:
Post a Comment