A PROTEST to raise awareness on the nature of consent took place in Hereford at the weekend.

Decorations of a less festive kind adorned the Shire Hall on Sunday with underwear of all colours and shapes strung across the building’s frontage and fence as around 18 protestors gathered to raise the profile of the #ThisIsNotConsent movement.

The protestors were pushed into action following a case in County Cork, Ireland in which a man was acquitted of raping a 17-year-old girl.

The story has gained prominence due to the comments made by the acquitted man’s lawyer, which suggested that the girl’s intention and consent to sex had been implied by the style of underwear she was wearing at the time, sparking an outpouring of outrage.

The demonstration, aimed at bringing the message about consent to Hereford, was sparked by the recent court case and protests that ensued in Irish towns, after a like-minded group of local women joined an online discussion about the case.

Ruth Neilson, who took part in the protest, said “I couldn’t believe that underwear could be referenced as proof.

“We need to get a conversation going about consent. You don’t give consent by your clothes, you don’t give consent by being drunk. We really need to talk about consent, especially to young boys and men. We need to talk about what their expectations are.

“We are calling for an end to victim blaming.”

Ms Neilson noted that the participants included both men and women and felt that they were received positively by passers-by who stopped to speak to them.