A Scottish Greens politician has sparked outrage after saying that rape exists ‘on a spectrum’ and rapists should not be ‘demonised’.
MSP Q Manivannan, who also described the idea of ‘monster rapists’ as a ‘myth’, made the comments during a podcast recording with Dr Sindhu Rajasekaran for The Subjective Space in February 2025.
Manivannan, who is trans non-binary and currently in Scotland on a student visa, was elected as an MSP for the Edinburgh and Lothian East region in this year’s local elections.
They are currently in the process of applying for a graduate visa and ‘global talent visa’ – one of which they must secure if they are to serve a full-term in Holyrood.
The global talent visa would enable Manivannan to live and work in the UK for the entire five-year parliamentary term and beyond.
A student visa includes a series of restrictions such as only being able to work part-time during term time for a maximum of 20 hours a week, and not being able to fill a permanent vacancy.
Asked by Dr Rajasekaran about compassion in forgiving acts of violence such as rape, 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, into society.
‘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.
Q Manivannan was elected as an MSP for the Edinburgh and Lothian East region for the Scottish Greens in May, but has sparked outrage with their comments on rape
Manivannan, who also described the idea of ‘monster rapists’ as a ‘myth’, made the comments during a podcast recording with Dr Sindhu Rajasekaran for The Subjective Space, with clips now circulating online
‘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.’
They continued: ‘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 exchange shared on social media have sparked outrage, with one viewer describing Manivannan as a ‘threat to victims’.
They said: ‘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.’
They continued: ‘He is a disgrace and is a threat to victims and potential victims with this way of thinking.’
A second viewer 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 the comments, adding: ‘I am absolutely clear that there is no spectrum of rape and know that there is certainly no spectrum of suffering from the survivors of rape.
‘Studies have shown that 9 in 10 survivors of rape knew their attacker while half of survivors have said that their attacker was a current or former partner.
‘A survivor of rape never fully recovers. There can be serious physical and mental injuries from the attack, survivors often feel shame and feel isolated for a long period of time afterwards.
‘The consequences of rape are often felt for years and decades after the attack. I am grateful to the many wonderful organisations and individuals who support victims of rape and sexual assault.
‘The Scottish Greens MSP should fully retract and apologise for their comments and Gillian MacKay and Ross Greer should make clear that the views shared are not Scottish Green Party policy.’
Responding to the criticism, Manivannan said the clip had been taken out of context and ‘misrepresented’.
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.’
When contacted by the Daily Mail, the Scottish Greens declined to comment.
When elected in May, Manivannan, who was born in India, told cheering supporters: ‘My name is Q Manivannan, I am a transgender Tamil immigrant, my pronouns are they/them.
‘I am to some in this country everything that the hateful despise, and I am standing here as your MSP now with care.
‘They say politics is the art of the possible. A politics of care expands what is possible for everyone left behind, pushed out or never invited in.’
Manivannan was elected after MSPs agreed a change in law that extended candidacy rights to foreign nationals with limited leave to remain, including those on student visas.
Manivannan’s visa is due to expire at the end of this year and the Scotland Act states that an MSP would then be disqualified from holding office at Holyrood.
They have said they are taking steps to secure a new visa which would enable them to serve the rest of the term.
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