Question about Dani & Kane

[Guevara01]

I personally disliked KK for the reason that i didn't understand how Kirsty could love her sister's rapist. But on the other hand, i do think that Kane did his best to try and reform. Doesn't make his actions any less serious or better, just shows that he recognises perhaps how bad they really were.

xxx

[MarMar]

I don't think he did. The writers never portrayed that, to the best of my knowledge.

[Liz]

While rape in general is black and white, nothing about that storyline could be described as anything other than a mass of grey.

The issue of rape is clearly something that you feel very strongly about, but I can appreciate the complexity of that particular storyline.

[Frankie]

I think the writers were maybe trying to show that sometimes things are not black and white. The point of this story was yes Kane raped Dani, and that fact is completely indisputable. The grey area is around the issue of intent and of understanding....in that he actually did not think he was acting inappropriately at the time, he genuinely thougt Dani was consenting. This does not make it right, but it makes it comprehensible. When through mediation he finally understood that she had not consented he showed remorse. Yes rape is rape, but I think they were trying to show is that there are grey areas and tht Kane was not in the same category as those men who don a mask and stalk women they do not know, absue them and rape them and on occasion kill them. Kane forced himself on Dani, therefore it was rape, but is he in the same category as a serial rapist? Is the 16 year old boy who is having sex for the first time and unable to stop himself at the last minute.... when his girlfriend says no.... in the same bracket?.... The law says yes both are rapist...but neither set out ... with intent..... to rape.....the one was a damaged individual who totally misread the situation...the second is a kid who had no experience and raging teenage hormones.It does not make the act itself any less damaging for the victim, nor does it make it OK, but it does make it understandable.

On the issue of forgiveness...no one knows what they would do until they are faced with a situation Whilst we might think it is impossible to forgive some things...people do...I have worked in a rape crisis centre...and have come across two women who actully married the guy who raped them....never mind their sister doing so....and a lot of women do forgive the man concerned. People never react how you might expect them to.

[I love music]

I think the writers were maybe trying to show that sometimes things are not black and white. The point of this story was yes Kane raped Dani, and that fact is completely indisputable. The grey area is around the issue of intent and of understanding....in that he actually did not think he was acting inappropriately at the time, he genuinely thougt Dani was consenting. This does not make it right, but it makes it comprehensible. When through mediation he finally understood that she had not consented he showed remorse. Yes rape is rape, but I think they were trying to show is that there are grey areas and tht Kane was not in the same category as those men who don a mask and stalk women they do not know, absue them and rape them and on occasion kill them. Kane forced himself on Dani, therefore it was rape, but is he in the same category as a serial rapist? Is the 16 year old boy who is having sex for the first time and unable to stop himself at the last minute.... when his girlfriend says no.... in the same bracket?.... The law says yes both are rapist...but neither set out ... with intent..... to rape.....the one was a damaged individual who totally misread the situation...the second is a kid who had no experience and raging teenage hormones.It does not make the act itself any less damaging for the victim, nor does it make it OK, but it does make it understandable.

Yes, I agree. I only wish everyone could see the grey areas. (They had a fairly similar story in Grange Hill a while back, the only difference being that the couple were boyfriend and girlfriend - he thought she wanted sex, she didn’t know how to say no so didn’t say anything at all. Next day in school she confided in her friend that she’d been raped while he was bragging to his mates.)

I liked Kane a lot - I wouldn’t have done if he hadn’t been genuinely sorry, but, when Dani made him realise what he’d done, he was, and he did try to be a better person). Trouble is, at one end of the scale you’ve got those who absolutely hate Kane and at the other end those who don’t think he did anything wrong and that Dani was the bad guy!

On the issue of forgiveness...no one knows what they would do until they are faced with a situation Whilst we might think it is impossible to forgive some things...people do...I have worked in a rape crisis centre...and have come across two women who actully married the guy who raped them....never mind their sister doing so....and a lot of women do forgive the man concerned. People never react how you might expect them to.

That’s very true. It takes an incredibly brave, selfless person to be able to forgive but they exist - like Anthony Walker’s mother who forgave the axe murderers of her son in the Merseyside racist attack.