Prince Andrew: Is he fit to support survivors’ charities?
This week, Prince Andrew has agreed to pay a total sum estimated to be around £12m to Virginia Giuffre following the sexual abuse case against him that went to court in New York. This sum is likely to include close to £2m to her charity Speak Out, Act, Reclaim, which supports survivors of sexual abuse.
In court, Andrew recognised that Giuffre suffered “both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.” Despite this, he has neither apologised nor admitted liability and went as far as to repeatedly deny that he ever met Giuffre, let alone sexually abusing her on three separate occasions when she was just a teenager.
BBC’s Emily Maitlis questioned why a “prince who told me he had ‘no recollection of ever meeting this lady’ is now paying her.” However, according to BBC News, the prince has now offered to help charities that support trafficking survivors and wishes to “support the fight against the evils of sex trafficking."
The language used by Andrew and his associates in response to the allegations has been derogatory, is reminiscent of stereotypical misogynistic and archaic views and shows little regard to her mental health and well being. I do not believe that he thinks he did anything wrong, exemplified by his continuous denial. Additionally, I feel his ‘offer of support’ is simply his way of trying to win back the support of the public and his family. To me, this shows that he does not care about what these charities stand for at all, only how others perceive him.
Labour MP Jess Phillips said “Those who work in sexual violence [and] human trafficking services are certainly not going to have open arms to his allyship... even if it was just finances,” and I could not agree more, because how is a man who is not even willing to admit his wrongdoing meant to support those working with survivors? How can a man that said on BBC Newsnight in 2019 that he “did not regret being friends with Epstein'' be trusted to be anywhere near anyone working closely with survivors? How can a man that previously denied ever knowing Giuffre be of any support to those who work alongside survivors?
In the eyes of the legal system, Prince Andrew is an innocent man. Despite this, his behaviour and insensitive rhetoric are likely to have caused offence and upset, particularly amongst survivors of sexual abuse. This leads me to conclude that Prince Andrew would be an unsuitable choice as either a patron or a supporter of survivors charities.
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