I reported my rape attack
“TRAUMA CHANGES your brain”, says Martha Ward.
The 28-year-old is one of the 95 per cent of victims who report being raped but never see the perpetrator charged.
Waiving her legal right to anonymity, Martha recounts that she was raped in 2017 by a stranger who attacked her following a night out in Manchester.
As with all serious sexual assault cases, Martha gave a statement immediately after reporting the rape to police at the hotel reception, then a video interview four days later.
However, she said due to the shock in the immediate aftermath, there were minor discrepancies in the two statements, meaning the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) couldn’t charge her alleged rapist as it made a conviction less
“I have absolutely no idea whether he is walking around still, he could have done this to someone else.”
likely. Less than one year later, Martha said was raped again by a different person, and never reported it because of her previous experience.
Martha, from Wakefield, said: “I had been on a night out in Manchester and I’d gone back to the hotel.
“I could see a man struggling to get into his room, so I told him he could use the phone in my room to contact reception, and that’s when it happened.
“I went to my friend’s room and the hotel reception called the police. They came and arrested him.
“They interviewed me and took all the initial swab tests at the hotel – it was horrific. A couple of days later a photographer came and took photographs of my injuries. There were bruises all over because he was quite violent. Then another couple of days later I did a video statement. “He was released under investigation because it was a stranger and didn’t pose a risk to me at that time.” A few weeks later, Martha was called by detectives at Greater Manchester Police who told her the man they arrested had claimed she had consented to sex with him, and that small differences in her two statements meant barristers would cast doubt on her account at a trial.
“They said the CPS weren’t going to charge because there were some tiny inconsistencies in my account, and if it got to trial the barristers would have picked it apart.
“I read later that trauma changes your brain – there were things I would have forgotten immediately afterwards, then remembered further down the line.
“Because of this, he was never charged. I have absolutely no idea whether he is walking around still, he could have done this to someone else.”
Martha says she was raped again at the beginning of 2018.
“I didn’t report it”, she admitted. “After everything that happened the last time, I just felt we are not listened to.”
“But I think in a way I’ve managed to turn the experience into a positive.
“Since what happened, I’ve managed to help other survivors.”