Psychopathy is so hot right now—or so popular culture would have you believe. In the past 15 years, public awareness of psychopathy and other antisocial personality disorders has rocketed. From the lethal-yet-likeable serial killer we saw in Dexter to the now-iconic Patrick Bateman of American Psycho, it seems both the media and public are drawn to the image of the “elite psychopath.”
In the past few weeks there have been many people expressing their views on convicted rapist and ex-footballer Ched Evans. Sadly (but unsurprisingly), many of those are ignorant of either the law, the case, or both. From the aggressive, uninformed die-hard supporters calling the rape victim “whore” to the legal uncertainties of more balanced posters, the same questions keep circulating on social media: How can it be rape if the victim can’t remember if she consented or not? How can Ched Evans be guilty of rape if his co-accused Clayton McDonald was acquitted? If Evans is guilty of rape, then surely any drunk girl who has sex can say she’s been raped?