Woman says she 'couldn't speak or breathe' during alleged rape by Russell Brand

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1. 1

   Woman says she 'couldn't speak or breathe' during alleged rape by Russell Brand

   BBC NewsPublished Oct 20, 2026Checked Oct 20, 2026

   “A woman who says Russell Brand raped her at his home in London told police she "couldn't speak or breathe" during the alleged attack, a jury has heard. The 51-year-old entertainer is accused of raping the woman in 2009 after meeting her at London's Hammersmith Apollo, where he had been performing as a stand-up comedian. Brand faces seven charges in the trial in total - three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. The allegations, made by six female complainants, span a 10-year period between 1999 and 2009. He denies all the charges. In video evidence of her speaking to a police officer, the woman said she performed a sex act on Brand at the London theatre after being invited for drinks following the show. She said she gave him her phone number, explaining she was "a massive Russell Brand fan" and a "massive comedy fan" at the time. After that night, she said Brand messaged her and she went to his house in Hampstead knowing they would have sex. But she said a consensual encounter became rape when Brand started having anal sex with her and ignored her pleas for him to stop. She said when she arrived at his home, Brand told her she needed to have a shower "because my hair smelled funny". He then asked her to brush her teeth. "I was trying to make a joke of what he was making me do", she said. "All of those things made me feel, 'I don't like this'." The woman said a short while after getting on his bed, she was turned over.”

2. 2

   The "Double Bind" of Gender-Based Violence: Secondary Victimization in Courtroom Cross-Examinations.

   Behavioral sciences & the law (Mariano)Published Nov 23, 2025Checked Oct 20, 2026

   “This paper examines how secondary victimization is interactionally produced during courtroom cross-examinations of women who have experienced sexual violence. Drawing on Ethnomethodology, Conversation Analysis and Membership Categorization Analysis, the study investigates how defense attorneys invoke rape myths and gendered stereotypes to challenge victims' credibility and moral character. Using the extracts of two cross-examinations from the celebrity trial CA v. Winslow II (2019), the results highlight how interactional features of questioning reproduce cultural assumptions that legitimate secondary victimization, constructing victims as unreliable or complicit. The findings highlight the "double bind" faced by women in sexual assault trials: they must appear both emotionally credible and rationally composed to be believed, yet any deviation from this ideal invites disbelief. Methodologically, the paper underscores the underutilized potential of EMCA in legal-linguistic research to reveal how institutional talk reproduces gendered injustice through ordinary conversational practices.”

3. 3

   It could be my son! ‘Himpathy’ and the male fear defence in rape trials

   Journal of Law and Society (Uhnoo et al.)Published Nov 8, 2024Checked Oct 20, 2026

   “Why do legal professionals mention their sons when discussing a new consent‐based rape law? Drawing on feminist legal studies and sociology of emotions, this article investigates a discourse of male fear of rape accusations among Swedish legal professionals and how defence lawyers strategically employ it. The analysis shows that a male fear defence is deployed to evoke a specific kind of sympathy termed ‘himpathy’ among judges. The male fear discourse serves as a himpathy resource to problematize the implications of the new rape law and to explain irrational behaviour from men accused of rape, instilling doubts about the complainant's credibility, suggesting false accusations, and creating an imagined ‘ruined’ future for the accused man if convicted, including his and his relatives’ shame over the rapist stigma. The findings highlight the role of background emotions in legal practice concerning rape and how the law remains ‘himpathetic’ despite radical consent‐based rape legislation.”

4. 4

   Policing Rape

   Routledge eBooks (Hohl & Stanko)Published Jun 7, 2024Checked Oct 20, 2026

   “Three decades of research, policy, and legal changes have tweaked rape investigations to alleviate some of their ills; however, for the majority of victim-survivors, the process remains gruelling. Police forces are notoriously resistant to reform, even in the face of rapidly declining public trust. The starting point of this book is the recognition that if we want profound change in policing, we must try something new. To do so, the authors move from asking "What is it about rape that makes it so difficult for police to investigate it well?" to asking "What is it about the police that makes it so difficult for police to investigate rape well?". Policing Rape sets out a practice-oriented theoretical framework for radically and sustainably transforming rape investigations, rape prevention, and the quality of officer engagement with victim-survivors. The authors reflect on the journey of putting this framework into practice within Operation Soteria Bluestone as a step on the path towards a radical transformation of rape policing. This book is essential reading for all those looking to understand and improve the policing of rape.”