Adam Johnson's defence was a worryingly feminist one

Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy After decades of campaigning, feminists might have been relieved to see rape culture acknowledged in the footballer Adam Johnson's trial, which concluded yesterday. The suggestion during the trial that Johnson's career affected his mental progression, and that this could somehow excuse his harmful attitude towards young women, taps directly into feminist arguments about rape culture. That said, victim blaming has sadly been a prominent feature of sexual violence trials for a long time now, and while Johnson's defence marks a shift, it still persists. Just last year, a judge gave a non-custodial sentence to a teacher who groomed a 16-year-old pupil, telling him: “If grooming is the right word to use, it was she who groomed you and you gave into temptation.” And in 2013, a judge issued a suspended sentence for a man convicted of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl, as it was argued that the child was “predatory” and had “egged him on.” In each case there was, rightly, public outcry and courts are slowly beginning to realise that such victim blaming is not as acceptable as it once was.