British minister forced to apologize over joke
Home Secretary James Cleverly has apologized for a joke he made about spiking his wife's drink with a date-rape drug.
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According to a report in the British tabloid newspaper Sunday Mirror, Cleverly made the joke to female guests attending a reception held at Downing Street earlier this month.
According to the newspaper, Cleverly, a key minister in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative government, referred to his wife and said that "it's not actually illegal if it's only a little bit" to add a little Rohypnol to her drink every night. According to the British tabloid newspaper Sunday Mirror, Cleverly made the joke to female guests attending a reception held at Downing Street earlier this month.
According to the newspaper, Cleverly, a key minister in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative government, referred to his wife and said that "it's not actually illegal if it's only a little bit" to add a little Rohypnol to her drink every night.
"It is truly unbelievable that the Home Secretary, who is responsible for tackling violence against women and girls, thinks it is appropriate to make such jokes. How can victims trust that he will take this heinous crime seriously?"
The Fawcett Society, a women's advocacy group, described the comments as "sickening."
Women's organizations were quick to react to the minister
Fawcett Society Chief Executive Jemima Olchawski, who called for the minister's resignation, said the following on the matter: "It is no wonder women do not feel safe. We know that 'it's just a joke' is the excuse used to allow misogyny to thrive. How can we trust him to take violence against women and girls seriously? We deserve better from our MPs, and Cleverly should resign."
In a statement, "Women's Aid," a non-governmental organization in the UK that aims to combat domestic violence, expressed the following views: "We rely on political leaders to take action to end violence against women and girls and the misogyny that underpins it.
It is vital that survivors of violence see that ministers take the issue seriously and do not belittle the reality that so many women face."