Author: Nick
Plebgate: blame the laws, not Mitchell or the police
A nasty sting to the incident that forced Andrew Mitchell to resign from the Cabinet was that he swore at a police officer, and that members of the public could easily expect to be arrested for such behaviour. By not being arrested on the spot, Mitchell was already being shown […]
Nichi Hodgson: Bound to Love
Nichi Hodgson’s real-life account of becoming a professional dominatrix, Bound to Love, is reviewed over at the F-word. It attempts to provide a realistic picture of BDSM to accompany the fictional account, Fifty Shades of Grey. It also challenges blanket conceptions of sex work as degrading and destructive to women’s […]
Myles Jackman on legal practice
Myles Jackman, who advises Backlash and blogs at Obscenity lawyer, discusses his legal practice in the Law Society Gazette. Chris Ashford, Reader in Law at the University of Sunderland, praises Jackman’s vocational approach to legal defence, which is informed by his previous career in film making and the media.
Banning sex work: the non-evidence base
Activists are gearing up a campaign to ban sex work in Scotland, with the explicit intention of protecting women engaging in sex work. Laura Lee has an enlightening account of the Conference Against Human Trafficking held in Glasgow. She was one of only two sex worker advocates to attend, and disagrees […]
Employment-based censorship
Via Sarah AB at Harry’s Place and BenSix, we learn of a case of a man being demoted for posting a comment on Facebook opposing gay marriage. There may be more details in the story that have gone unreported relating to something more justifiably akin to misconduct. But if this […]
Rowan Atkinson argues for Repeal of Section 5 of the Public Order Act
World-renowned actor and comedian, Rowan Atkinson, makes a humourous and strong case for repealing Section 5 of the Public Order act at a recent parliamentary reception. Section 5 of the UK’s Public Order Act 1986 has several parallels with the ban on extreme pornography. They permit prosecutions of harmless and […]
Backlash legal adviser Myles Jackman wins Junior Lawyer of the Year
Myles Jackman, a consultant at Hodge Jones Allen solicitors, has won the Law Society’s Junior Lawyer of the Year Award. He has successfully defended a number of individuals charged in obscenity and extreme pornography cases, several of whom initially sought Backlash for advice. The Law Society announced: ‘His work has […]
Does porn aid abstinence?
In the US, that is one working hypothesis, where teenagers are, since the roll out of the Internet, safer, healthier and (unsurprisingly) a bit fatter.
Tell the Home Secretary to save a person’s life
Via Harry’s Place, we learn of the imminent deportation of LGBT campaigner Brenda Namigadde to Uganda, where she faces the prospect of being murdered for her sexuality and beliefs. Please sign this petition to encourage Theresa May to intercede and prevent this tragedy from occuring.
PRESS RELEASE: Schlock Horror! Stafford jury acquits fantasy porn defendant
Prosecutors fail first test case to make mock erotic murder scenes illegal. K, who downloaded erotic fantasy images with violent themes from the internet, (1) was found not guilty of possession of extreme pornography (2) at Stafford Crown Court today. The jury were asked to decide whether obviously faked death […]