If you've been on social media this morning you may have noticed lots of people sharing pictures of their lacy underwear.

People are posting the snaps with the hashtag #ThisIsNotConsent - and there's an important reason why.

A man was acquitted of raping a teenage girl by an Irish court last week, after her "thong with a lace front" was presented as part of the defence's closing address.

This has sparked furious backlash on social media by people who are shocked that the girl's choice of knickers was used against her in court.

Many have taken to Twitter to protest "victim-blaming", by posting their own undies with the #ThisIsNotConsent hashtag to make a statement.

One person shared a snap of a pink lacy thong, and wrote on Twitter: "I'm behind the 17 year old girl and her rape case in Cork. I believe you.

"#ThisIsNotConsent #IBelieveHer Yes, they're cute. No, I dont want to have sex. I'm wearing them for me, not for anyone else."

Another said: "What we wear is not consent!"

A third posted a picture of a red thong, writing: "Just because my panties are cute doesn't mean I'm saying yes".

Many women on social media do not think the kind of underwear the girl chooses constitutes evidence of whether or not she wants to have sex.

A fourth said: "Whether they're tiny or as big as a tent, whatever we're wearing, they don't prove 'consent'.

Another person added: "The whole rotten system needs to change... What if she'd been knickerless, what then.

"Sorry to be so descriptive, but when do we stop with victim blaming. Lace knickers, granny knickers, no knickers.. no means no."

I Believe Her, a group that aims to help give voice to survivors of sexual violence in Ireland, has been encouraging people to share photos of underwear as part of their campaigning.

A spokesperson for the group said to Mirror Online: "We at I Believe Her - Ireland are deeply angered by the suggestion by legal counsel in the recent Cork rape case, that any item of clothing constitutes implied consent.

"We had hoped that as a society we had moved on from these archaic, victim blaming rape myths."

The Irish Examiner reported that Elizabeth O'Connell SC told jurors they should consider the underwear the girl wore on the night of the alleged rape in her closing address.

She told the Central Criminal Court in Cork: "Does the evidence out-rule the possibility that she was attracted to the defendant and was open to meeting someone and being with someone?
