Rape survivors fear disbelief at station
CRIME: Fewer than one in seven alleged rape survivors feels confident they can obtain justice by reporting the matter to police, a survey has suggested.
The vast majority ( 95 per cent) of those who decided against reporting the matter to police said they did not do so because of the fear of being disbelieved.
FEWER THAN one in seven alleged rape survivors feels confident they can obtain justice by reporting the matter to police, a survey has suggested.
The vast majority ( 95 per cent) of those who decided against reporting the matter to police said they did not do so because of the fear of being disbelieved.
The figures were based on nearly 500 women and men responding to a survey by the Victims’ Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, who said the results “reveal the extent of the crisis within our justice system”.
Dame Vera said: “Survivors want to be treated sensitively, fairly, respectfully, to be believed, but also for criminal justice system professionals to better understand trauma, provide clear and timely information, and to offer better access to support services. And on all of these fronts, the justice system has been found wanting.
“This survey and the voices behind it reveal the extent of the crisis within our justice system.”
The study is unlikely to allay current fears over the path to justice for victims following a sharp fall in rape prosecutions and convictions in England and Wales, despite an increase in reports to police.
Records from the summer show there were 55,130 cases of rape reported to police, but only 2,102 prosecutions and 1,439 convictions in England and Wales in 2019- 20. But three years earlier, there had been 44,000 recorded rapes with 5,000 prosecutions and nearly 3,000 convictions.
According to the self- selecting survey of 491 rape survivors, carried out over a six- week period in the summer, just five per cent said they strongly agreed that they could obtain justice by reporting the allegation to the police.
A further nine per cent said they simply agreed while threequarters ( 75 per cent) said they disagreed, to varying degrees.
One respondent, a woman aged 25 to 34, said of her experience: “It’s a waste of time going to the police and the criminal justice system is biased towards the perpetrator and their rights, while victims have very little rights.
“The CPS ( Crown Prosecution Service) also don’t really communicate with the victim well. I emailed them and they never responded.
“It’s an unjust justice system.
Survivors want to be treated sensitively, fairly, to be believed. Dame Vera Baird, Victims’ Commissioner.
I’m left by the police to pick up the broken pieces of my life.”
The survey suggested more than one quarter ( 29 per cent) of alleged victims did not report their ordeal to the police. Of them, 19 in 20 ( 95 per cent) said concerns about not being believed were the main reason for that decision.
While 41 per cent of survivors, said they did not receive support following the rape.
Katie Russell, national spokesperson for Rape Crisis England and Wales, described the survey and accompanying testimonies as “devastating to read”.
She said: “Nothing short of cultural and systemic shift will do if we are to deliver the criminal and social justice for victims and survivors of these serious crimes.