Conor McGregor is a stark reminder that even a guilty verdict won’t silence rape apologists

As part of Marie Claire UK’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, journalist, campaigner and TEDx Talks speaker Chloe Laws examines just how gendered gender-based violence is.

This article contains themes of sexual assault and violence

As of writing, I have thirty mutual friends following Conor McGregor on Instagram. Some are close friends, others are acquaintances, ex-colleagues, people I briefly knew at university or school. I checked again after seeing a viral post about why it’s important to unfollow McGregor — as a sign of solidarity, to weaken his brand, to hurt his pocket — and I wasn’t expecting to see more than a couple of names. McGregor, it seems, is still wildly popular despite being found guilty of rape.

On Friday November 22, Ireland’s High Court ruled that Conor McGregor assaulted Nikita Hand in December 2018, awarding her €248,604 (approximately £206,000) in damages.

McGregor, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) later that evening, announced plans to appeal the verdict and expressed gratitude to his supporters, stating, “I am with my family now, focused on my future.”

The court heard how the mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter pinned Hand to a bed and assaulted her, leaving her with extensive bruising and abrasions across her body, including her hands, wrists, and neck. She also sustained a bloodied scratch on her breast and tenderness from being placed in a “chokehold”. McGregor denied responsibility for the injuries, claiming they might have occurred after she “swan-dived” into the bath.

Hand was taken to the Rotunda Hospital’s Sexual Assault Treatment Unit the following day, where a paramedic described her injuries as some of the worst bruising she had seen in years. Dr. Daniel Kane, who assessed her, testified that a tampon was “wedged” at the top of her vagina, with possible internal tearing, and that she suffered multiple “moderate to severe” injuries, including bruising on all four limbs.

The court also heard that the assault had devastating effects on Hand’s life. She left her job as a hairdresser due to ongoing mental health struggles, her relationship ended months later, and she was forced to leave her home in Drimnagh, with her mortgage falling into arrears. She stopped attending counselling sessions because she could no longer afford them and had spent over €4,000 (£3,326) on GP, pharmacy, and psychotherapy costs.

It has also been reported that three masked men broke into Nikita Hand’s house just months before the hearing of her civil action. Her partner fought the men off but suffered non-life-threatening stab wounds. Nothing was stolen from her home during the incident, which occurred around 2.20 am on June 14 this year.

This guilty verdict has felt like a win for survivors of sexual assault everywhere. It is so rare that rapists are persecuted, especially when they are a white, successful, famous man with multiple levels of intersecting privilege. In the year ending December 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charged just 3,717 adult and child rape cases, which is only 5.4% of the 68,387 recorded rapes.

Calls to a rape helpline almost doubled over the weekend following the verdict of the civil rape case against Conor McGregor, the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has said. Rachel Morrogh, chief executive of the crisis centre, told the BBC that the number of first-time callers increased by 50% over the weekend: “In the six hours immediately after the verdict was delivered on Friday afternoon the calls surged by 150%.”

There has been an outpouring of support for Nikita Hand — mostly from women — but, sadly, there has also been an equally loud, maybe larger, outpouring of support for McGregor. This case highlights just how gendered gendered-violence is. An estimated 91% of victims of rape & sexual assault are female compared to 9% male. Nearly 99% of perpetrators are male.

Since the news broke, McGregor has been defended by thousands online, including high-profile figures, many from far-right circles. Andrew Tate tweeted yesterday that he would vote for McGregor as “president of Ireland” before it’s “too late.”

The Tate brothers went further, victim-blaming Hand and claiming McGregor is innocent because she’s “a 3 out of 10 at best.” This has been a well-trodden rape myth that has been perpetrated throughout Hand’s case with supporters claiming that McGregor would not rape Hand, because she is not ‘attractive enough’. Lies like these are not only deeply misogynistic and objectifying, but they sustain rape culture and the idea that it is about sexual intimacy and attraction. Rape is not sex — it is not about sex, it is about power and abuse.

This case is a stark reminder that even a guilty verdict won’t silence rape apologists. Conor McGregor was found guilty in civil court, and Nikita Hand’s evidence was both gruesome and overwhelming, yet a quick search of her name on X reveals how many people are intent on not believing her in favour of supporting a man found guilty of rape. We have a long way to go in dismantling the patriarchal, violent, systemic structures that protect rapists and vilify victims. Nikita Hand has moved mountains in this fight.

For further help and support or to find a Rape Crisis Centre in your local area, please visit Rape Crisis