"there definitely is a demonisation of rape"
A Scottish Greens MSP has faced backlash after saying rape exists “on a spectrum”.
Q Manivannan made the comments during a podcast recording with Dr Sindhu Rajasekaran for The Subjective Space.
Manivannan, who is trans non-binary, was elected as an MSP for Edinburgh and Lothian East in this year’s local elections. They are currently in Scotland on a student visa and are applying for a graduate visa and global talent visa.
The comments came during a discussion about compassion and whether acts of violence such as rape can be forgiven.
Asked by Dr Rajasekaran about the possibility of rehabilitating rapists into society, Manivannan said:
“This question also leads to an imagination of what a just society would be. It is parallel to questions of abolitionism, of what it means to think of rehabilitating rapists, for instance.
“I think our distaste towards rape is toward the idea of and the act of it, not towards the myth of this monster rapist that we’ve now been born to be thinking of it that way.
“Because there definitely is a demonisation of rape in the sense of it [rape] is a spectrum. I don’t seek to lighten any kind of […] It is a spectrum, none of which is any worse, or less or more worse, but it is a spectrum of things that constitute one homogenised word rape.
“And I think there’s also different modes of not just consent but also context and conditions under which rape is, well, rape.
“And I think in that circumstance, the idea that the rapist is the big burly man is not necessarily unfounded, because that’s the individual I’m most scared of on a daily basis, but it’s also an entity that is misconstrued because I think any individual is capable of rape.”
Clips of the discussion shared on social media subsequently prompted criticism, with one viewer commenting:
“Manivannan has a very warped view and doesn’t want men who rape demonised and would like us to believe that rape is a spectrum.
“He is a disgrace and is a threat to victims and potential victims with this way of thinking.”
Another said: “This is not a nuanced academic debate. It is a sitting MSP minimising one of the most serious crimes there is.
“If your moral framework cannot bring itself to say clearly that rape is never acceptable and rapists deserve condemnation, then it is not progressive, it is dangerous.”
Scottish Labour MP Tracy Gilbert said she was “alarmed” by Manivannan’s remarks.
Q Manivannan, Green MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East on a student visa, responds after circulation of the below clip of him saying “there is a demonisation of rape… it is a spectrum.”
“The point I made about demonisation was that not all rapists fit a stereotype, and that… pic.twitter.com/M7lGhHZiS0
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) August 8, 2026
Responding to the backlash, Manivannan claimed their comments had been “misrepresented” and “taken out of context”.
They said: “This clip has been clearly misrepresented and taken out of context from a much longer interview.
“As a survivor of sexual violence, who has spoken openly about my recovery, I am clear that we need to focus on reducing the likelihood of perpetrators of rape reoffending.
“The point I made about demonisation was that not all rapists fit a stereotype, and that all kinds of men can and do commit it.”
“The vast majority of sexual violence is from men who the victims know personally. Victims should be believed regardless of who the perpetrator was, and rapists should be punished in the strongest terms.
“If we are to tackle rape and sexual violence, we need to tackle wider issues in society, including the ways boys and men are socialised, the communities or lack thereof they’re in, and how they’re raised.
“When talking about a spectrum, I was making the point that laws often take a narrow definition of what rape and sexual violence is, which often allows it to continue without consequence. A full viewing of the interview clarifies this.
“In a country where rape has the lowest conviction rates of any crime, and reoffending continues, this is an urgent and important conversation we need to have in Scotland.
“Any suggestion that my statements minimise or excuse rape or sexual assault are deeply false and misleading.”
The controversy comes months after Manivannan was elected to the Scottish Parliament following a change in the law allowing foreign nationals with limited leave to remain, including people on student visas, to stand for election.
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