life and style  There is no excuse  The Italian ruling that it
is not possible for a man to rape a woman wearing tight jeans
was finally overturned this week, but Julie Bindel finds little
to celebrate while sexual assault trials still focus on the
behaviour of the victim Italian women MPs protesting against
jeans verdict Italian MPs hold signs reading 'Jeans, the alibi
for rape' in protest at the 'tight jeans ruling' in 1999. The
ruling was reversed this week. Photograph: Reuters  It has taken
almost a decade of feminist campaigning to overturn one of the
most ridiculous rulings on rape in Europe, so forgive me if I
don't sound too grateful. This week, judges at the Italian Court
of Cassation reversed a ruling that went like this: if you wear
tight jeans it is impossible to be raped, because you would need
to help the man get into your knickers.  Seriously, this belief
has been enshrined in case law since 1999. It is a bit like the
old saying here that goes, "If you don't want to be raped, just
cross your le