Green MSP Q Manivannan has issued an apology for comments made during a podcast last year, in which they discussed the 'demonisation of rape'. The apology comes after an open letter from the Scottish Rape Crisis Alliance (SRCA), which represents four rape crisis centres in Scotland, said there was 'no hierarchy of rape' and warned the MSP not to 'minimise' sexual violence.
Apology and Clarification
In a statement, Manivannan said: 'I am horrified that my comments were selectively edited in order to mislead people and misrepresent me, but I also accept that my language was abstract in the first place and for that I take full responsibility and am sorry.'
Manivannan added: 'During the interview, I categorically stated that rape in every context is equally serious and harmful. This section of the interview was maliciously left out of clips — with the rest being misrepresented and widely shared out of context, despite my repeated clarifications.'
The MSP, who uses they/them pronouns, also said they had pointed out that 'rapists do not fit a single stereotype' and that many are relatives or known to their victims. They said they recognised that the clips shared without full context had caused 'considerable upset' and apologised for that.
Context of the Controversy
The comments were made during an episode of The Subjective Space podcast and re-emerged online at the weekend, sparking criticism. In the nearly hour-long exchange, Manivannan said there was a 'demonisation of rape' and described it as 'a spectrum', adding: 'none of which is any worse or less or more worse, but it is a spectrum of things that constitute that one homogenised word, rape.' They also mentioned 'different modes' of consent and said the idea of a rapist being a 'big, big, burly man' was 'not necessarily unfounded' but 'misconstrued'.
Response from Scottish Rape Crisis Alliance
The SRCA's open letter said it 'fundamentally rejects the suggestion that society is demonising rape'. The letter stated: 'We do not need to exaggerate its seriousness. We do not need to turn perpetrators into mythical monsters. But neither should we be afraid to say plainly that rape is horrific, that it causes profound trauma and harm, and that responsibility for that harm belongs with the person who chose to violate another person.'
The letter added that recognising the complexity of sexual violence 'does not require us to make rape itself ambiguous' and stressed there was 'no hierarchy of rape' and 'no level of suffering a survivor must demonstrate before their experience becomes serious enough to matter'. It said: 'Was my rape serious enough? should never be a question a survivor has to ask themselves.'
Political Reactions
The Scottish Conservatives called for Manivannan to be suspended, with Meghan Gallacher saying it was 'deeply alarming' for an MSP to 'minimise the seriousness of rape and suggest that there is a spectrum of offences'. Gallacher said the comments were 'so unacceptable' that Scottish Greens co-leaders Ross Greer and Gillian Mackay 'must now remove the whip from them'.
The MSP's comments were also criticised by Scotland's children's minister, as well as Labour and the Liberal Democrats. In their apology, Manivannan said: 'Rape and sexual violence can leave profound pain, fear, hurt and trauma. I know from my experience of surviving sexual violence and speaking about recovery how deeply those experiences can affect people.' They added: 'I would never seek to diminish or dismiss any survivor's experience... I am genuinely sorry to everyone who has been distressed, hurt or triggered by the clips.'
