I find it absolutely staggering that here we have nn Ken Clarke, a Justice Minister and a former QC who seems incapable of understanding laws relating to sexual offences for which he is responsible . Ken Clarke is completely out of tune with the rest of the world if he thinks that those who have criticised him are guilty of sensationalising the issue.. Ken Clarke says he is focused on reducing sentences and keeping people out of jail, but rape is surely one of those crimes for which there should be no shorter sentences. How does Mr Clarke explain to the pensioner (as recently reported in the East London Advertiser 19/05/11) who was raped in her residential care home that as a justice minister he could even comprehend reducing her perpetrators sentence? Twelve months isn't long enough. A murderer gets a life sentence, but a rapist may only get twelve months. The victim has to live with the terrifying experience of rape for the rest of their lives. I have spoken to many victims whom have expressed a wish of committing suicide after their ordeal. One said to me; "it's as if my dignity, my life, my soul has been taken away from me, I wish they had killed me instead, at-least then I wouldn't have to die everyday" claims an anonymous victim of rape. Here in the UK only 4% of repoted rapes end up in convictions. Instead of toughening the legislation for more women to come forward and report crimes, Mr Clarke may have succeeded on doing completely the opposite. Ken Clarke needs to understand that there is no such thing as 'soft rape', 'hard rape' or even 'casual rap'e. Rape is rape. When a girl says 'no' she means 'NO'. As a woman, I feel Ken Clarke's statement has made women more vulnerable and I request the minister to retract his statement, apologise, review and toughen the current law. In 2007 some 85,000 women raped official statistics which equates to 1 in every 200 women in UK. Please sign the petition below to trigger a review into the current legislation, increase jail sentence for sexual assault and to demand Ken Clarke to retract his statement. COUNCILLOR RANIA KHAN Cabinet member for Regeneration, LBTH