Judge suggests murdered woman made herself 'vulnerable' by drinking

District judge Nigel Cadbury has suggested that Karen Buckley, the 24-year-old student who was murdered after a night out with her friends in Glasgow, "put herself in a vulnerable position" by drinking.

He made the remarks last Friday, two days after Ms Buckley's body was discovered, during a hearing at Worcester magistrates' court about a 21-year-old inebriated woman who had been involved in an assault outside a bar.

The Worcester News reports Mr Cadbury said it was "very, very worrying" to see "young people" drinking to excess.

“I find it incredible that young people can get so drunk that they don’t even know who they’re with,” he said.

“One only has to think about the horrible situation in Glasgow to see how serious this could have been.

“It’s very, very worrying how young girls put themselves in such very, very vulnerable positions.”

Sarah Green, acting director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said in a statement that the comments risk "perpetuating the idea that young women drinking alcohol put themselves at risk of attack".

"Even if it is not meant, this implies that sexual violence is in some way inevitable and it is women's responsibility to avoid it. It makes the perpetrators of these crimes all but invisible."

Miss Buckley disappeared on 12 April. Alexander Pacteau, 21, has been charged with her murder.

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