Sending nude selfies is an ‘ everyday act’... it doesn’t mean consent
SWAPPING explicit nude selfies with friends is “part of everyday life” for many teenagers, a senior lawyer claimed yesterday.
But girls who do it are not “giving blanket consent” to have sex, Siobhan Blake, the country’s lead prosecutor for rape cases, has told colleagues.
She said: “As dramatic technological advances have changed the way people meet and connect, it’s vital those in the criminal justice system understand the wider social context of these changes.
“For example, many teenagers believe that sending explicit photos or videos is a part of everyday life.
“In essence a person can send a naked selfie for instance one day but that is not any sort of blanket consent to a sexual encounter on another day.
“Our prosecutors must understand this and challenge any
implication that sexual images or messages equate to consent in cases of rape or sexual violence.”
Ms Blake’s Crown Prosecution Service guidance also asserts that dates arranged via hook- up apps do not mean that sex is inevitable
and women should be ready to offer their bodies to dates.
The guidance was drawn up as a recent study showed rape conviction rates were as low as three per cent in London.
Research into 501 rape allegations during a single month found that 58 per cent of cases did not progress because victims withdrew their allegation – often because of the distress of reliving their ordeal in detail.
One victim – raped by a stranger who was identified by DNA eight years later when he struck again – dropped her case after police demanded access to her phone, therapy notes and even school and university records.
She said: “I was terrified of being subjected to further scrutiny and my life experiences and private therapy notes being used to discredit me.”
Many victims’ memories of an attack can be distorted by trauma – a factor which led to cases being discontinued in the past.
The guidance shows Crown lawyers how to present cases so juries understand why victims’ accounts might be inconsistent.
Claire Waxman, London Victims’ Commissioner, said: “This is great progress.”