Workers Party Rep Nicola Grant said today that a number of women and young girls have been commenting about the outcome of the of Conor McGregor rape case. Nikita Hand showed courage in pursuing the case to the high court despite being offered a settlement in order to prevent legal proceedings. Nicola continued questions now have to be asked and answered as to why Nikita Hand had to challenge this rich and powerful individual ,in a civil case in order to achieve this verdict , why did the justice system not pursue a criminal prosecution in this case?

Women and girls are quite rightly asking, why some in our society seem to think that these types of behavior from those with wealth and power is somehow normal, and they have an entitlement to say and do anything they want to women. These individuals are not only hero worshiped by young and old men, but other rich and so called influencers come out publicly and defend them. McGregor was even accompanied to court by a candidate in the Republic of Ireland General Election. This case has not only been followed by the press in Ireland but has attracted international media attention.

The Guardian newspaper today is running the story and showing photographs of him with world famous and infamous men reminding readers of the fact that Russell Brand, Andrew Tate and others have similar views of their entitlement to use and abuse women and young girls. Russell Brand went as far as suggest at onetime that McGregor should be the President of Ireland. This normalisation of abuse and violence must be called out, our public prosecution service must be more proactive in pursuing these perpetrators with the full force of the law. There should be no more Nikita Hands, women and girls should not have to take costly civil actions to seek Justice for themselves.

Nicola concluded, "whilst Conor McGregor is suffering major consequences on the financial front and rightly so, there are still some men who will consider him a role model and seek to justify and perhaps seek to emulate his actions and behavior. This is precisely why the criminal justice system should have taken him through the legal process and laid criminal charges, Rape, Sexual Assault, Violence against women and girls are all criminal actions, no matter if you are wealthy and powerful or not. We need now to tackle these issues through education in our schools in our homes and in our communities. Zero tolerance and accountability for any form of sexual harassment verbal or physical must become the primary principle in society."