Last night’s episode of Cutting Edge has everybody talking today. Brendan O’Connor’s panel featured comedian Al Porter, journalist Niamh Horan as well as doctor Ciara Kelly, and it proved to be extremely controversial.
Cutting Edge is a news-driven panel show which features three guests each week and discusses the news from Ireland and around the world. This week the conversation turned into a heated debate centred on the Brock Turner, Stanford rape case.
Niamh Horan looked at the case from an Irish point of view and took the stance that although women are the victim if they have been raped, they also need to take responsibility for themselves and not get into such an intoxicated state.
“In Ireland, 80pc of rape and sexual assault cases, alcohol is a factor. Alcohol is a factor is on both sides. This is about facing facts and I don’t think we can look at that fact without discussing alcohol.
“You’re putting yourself at risk if you don’t have your wits about you and if you have taken a certain amount of drink and put yourself in harm’s way,” Niamh said.
These views sparked outrage from Dr. Ciara Kelly and from viewers who very much opposed her opinion.
“Instead of focusing on the women – what they were drinking? how they were dressed? – why don’t we focus more on the men who are doing the raping? We need to lay the blame for rape at the feet of the rapists,” Dr. Ciara retaliated.
Viewers took to Twitter to share their reactions to the show, and they were furious.
