UK lawmaker says Assange's 'bad sexual etiquette, not tantamount to rape'

London, Aug 21 (ANI): A British politician has been criticised for suggesting that allegations of sexual assault levelled against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have no basis, because having sex with a woman when she is asleep is not rape.

MP George Galloway said the allegations against Assange 'don't constitute rape,' but condemned as 'disgusting' what he described as 'Assange's 'sexual behaviour'

"Woman A met Julian Assange, invited him back to her flat, gave him dinner, went to bed with him, (and) had consensual sex with him," Sky News quoted Galloway, as saying.

"(She) claims that she woke up to him having sex with her again. This is something which can happen, you know," he said.

"I mean, not everybody needs to be asked prior to each insertion. Some people believe that when you go to bed with somebody, take off your clothes, and have sex with them and then fall asleep, you're already in the sex game with them," he added.

According to the report, Galloway further said that for a man not to obtain verbal consent prior to sexual intercourse was 'sordid', but nonetheless did not constitute rape.

"It might be really bad manners not to have tapped her on the shoulder and said, 'Do you mind if I do it again? It might be really sordid and bad sexual etiquette, but whatever else it is, it is not rape, or you bankrupt the term rape of all meaning," he said

"I don't believe either of those women, I don't believe either of these stories," he added.

According to the report, Galloway's comments provoked anger on Twitter.

Many lawyers and anti-rape campaigners argued that Galloway was wrong and the law is clear that consent is required every time someone has sex. (ANI)

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