As you may have read last week, a violent man with a history of committing and threatening to commit serious assault on women was cleared on all charges of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to two women in a female prison.
The 22-year-old man, who was born in Ireland to Venezuelan parents as Gabrielle Alejandro Gentile, obtained what can only be described as a ‘magic’ piece of paper from the Irish government which has (again magically) rendered him every bit of a woman in the eye of the law in Ireland as your mother is.
I am speaking of course about Barbie Kardashian who most journalists in Ireland compliantly refer to as “she” or “her” in their reporting.
The irony of a man who claims he is a woman choosing to call himself ‘Barbie’ – the name of a plastic doll which represents a largely fake image of women – is not lost on me.
A lot has been written about the history of how this extremely violent man came to public attention. That the Irish media, with the exception of my colleagues at Gript, were happy to refer to him as a “homicidal girl”, is something that should tell you everything you need to know about the level of ideological capture among our press.
The very passing of the law granting the magic pierce of paper I refer to above – the gender recognition certificate – should also tell you everything you need to know about the level of ideological capture that our political establishment is steeped in.
That the very people who feign ignorance about one of the most basic aspects of reality, biological sex, also happen to be the very people who pass our laws and decide what information reaches us, and how it reaches us, is a situation so grave it’s difficult to put into words.
So what evidence did the court hear before Barbie was acquitted of making verbal threats of rape and assault this time?
The Countess – a group that campaigns for the rights of women and children – had eyes in Limerick Circuit Criminal Court for the duration of the Kardashian trial last week.
After Kardashian was found not guilty of threatening to rape and cause serious harm to the two women, Countess founder and CEO Laoise deBrun BL said, “We have entered the age of Trans Supremacy” adding that “trans-identified males really can get away with anything.”
deBrun said, “We [the Irish legal system] are outliers when it comes to the subjective test as a defense to rape insofar as an accused can argue that he honestly believed the woman was consenting even if that belief was unreasonable.
“Now we find that one can admit to making threats and wanting to terrify victims but still be acquitted because the threats were not realistic or practical to carry out and he denied intention to carry through with them.”
She said that, “Serious questions now need to be asked about the use of the subjective test and how this enables perpetrators,” adding that “if the prosecution must prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt, then perpetrators will deny intent and juries will struggle to find that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the perpetrator intended to carry out the threat, that is, their subjective state of mind.”
deBrun – who has written a draft amendment to – the Gender Recognition Act to remove men from women’s prisons said, “We are calling for an objective test and a victim-led approach whereby the impact of the threats on the victim is not dismissed, as it was in this case.”
The court heard that Kardashian made threats to rape a fellow inmate in the female estate at Limerick Prison last year after he was accused of leaving a shower room dirty with body hair.
Tegan McGhee, who is on remand to face trial on serious charges, complained about the state of the shower which led to Kardashian saying, “I’m going to rape you so you cannot have any children.”
A statement like this from any man for any reason would undoubtedly cause a woman great distress, but this time it came from a man with a history of violence against women.
The court heard that Kardashian admitted making these threats telling a Garda “I told her through the closed door that I would rape her with an object.”
Asked why he threatened to rape McGhee with an object he said, “Women rape with implements. I am a woman.”
He said he had, “thought of rape because I have experienced it” but that, “I did not want her to believe I could do it.”
Kardashian also told Gardaí that McGhee had told him he had a male voice which he found “transphobic”.
In an interview with Gardaí on the 7th of July this year Kardashian said Tegan had “called me a man previously,” which he said had “upset me”.
He also claimed that prison officer Róisin Linnane had told him “You are a man.” saying, “She offended me.”
“In the heat of the moment, I said I would sexually assault her. I was wrong. I don’t think she wants me to apologise.” he said.
In cases where a man, say a rapist like Adam Graham who now goes by Isla Bryson, is allowed access to a female prison, it seems as though those with the power to make a difference simply choose to turn a blind eye like Minister for Justice Helen McEntee appeared to do here.
Perhaps they don’t care much for the kind of women who end up in jail – perhaps you don’t care much either – however women with criminal records are not the only ones affected by the housing of men like Kardashian and Bryson in female jails.
While fellow inmates may be able to avoid physical contact with men like them, female prison officers often have no choice but to deal with them in an up close and personal manner.
Limerick Prison officer Róisin Linnane is one of these women.
The court heard that on the morning of the 25th of April last year Kardashain made threats to “seriously assault” and “rape” Linnane after she had asked him to hurry up and go back to his cell from the shower room.
Linnane also asked Kardashian to show her the shower room to make sure it was clean but found him sitting in the shower area with his feet up on a chair 10 minutes after telling him to get back to his cell.
When the prison guard told Kardashian to open the shower room door, the court heard he got up and told her, “I will seriously assault you and rape you like my previous victims.”
On another occasion on the 9th of June last year Linnane said she heard Kardashian shouting abuse at Tegan McGhee from his cell which was locked.
She said that when she went to the locked cell to tell him to be quiet he pressed his face to the glass panel and said, “I have not forgotten about you. I will rape you and molest you.”
In an interview with Gardaí, Kardashian said that this had happened in the heat of the moment and that he“was unjustified but I did not have an intention.”
“I chose the words because I snapped. It was not prior thought. It was only after that I realized what that made her feel like. I did not mince my words, I did not plan it, it was a split-second decision.”
Later on the same day as Kardashian was in the process of getting food independently, Linanne said he shouted to her saying, “I will put my hands between your legs and rape you with an implement.”
In a Garda interview he said,“When I go to meals and the yard, all the other prisoners are locked up.” “The regime made me more aggressive and emotional.”
When a violent transgender male is present, female prisoners are told to get back in their cells while the man uses common areas.
Two days later the court heard that when she went to check on Kardashian, who at the time was in a special security cell which requires that the prisoner be checked on every 15 minutes, Kardashian told her, “I am going to sexually assault and rape you”.
She said that 15 minutes later when she went to check him again at 7:15pm he repeated the statement saying, “I am going to rape you and sexually assault you.”
Linanne gave evidence that after these events, “I was shocked, terrified , and feared for my safety. I never feared a prisoner. I fear for it and for the release date.”
The court heard that two officers and a civil employee of the prison corroborated the evidence she gave.
Commenting on the acquittal, deBrun said, “The cognitive dissonance caused by this verdict is visceral, coming as it does a mere two days after we are told that the subjective feelings of certain groups of people, including trans-identified persons, are all that is needed to meet the threshold of a hate crime. The double standards are laid bare.”
“A man who identifies as a woman can admit to threatening to rape a woman and even agree that this is the worst way to terrorise that woman and that he wanted her to suffer, yet if that woman calls him a man, it is she who is guilty of hate.”
“Our thoughts are with the women Barbie Kardashian terrorised who got no justice and the many women and men in Ireland left devastated by this verdict.” she said.