Quarter of rape cases fail because victims won’t take action
ONE in four rape cases collapses because the victim does not want to take action against their attacker, according to a report.
Police and prosecutors are forced to drop thousands of investigations – meaning culprits get away scot-free.
A report by the police watchdog found that a quarter of 35,798 alleged rapes in 2015-16 did not go trial because the victim ‘does not support action’.
Campaigners said many adults and children were deterred from pursuing cases because they do not want to endure the ordeal of reliving the attack or face the perpetrator in court.
Meanwhile, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary identified a surge in the number of rapes reported to police in less than four years. The 124 per cent rise – from 16,012 alleged offences in 2011-12 – coincides with the start of the Operation Yewtree investigations into historical sexual abuse, set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Experts also said the increase was partly because victims were more willing to report sex crimes and police were more likely to take complaints seriously.
The figures appeared in 42 local area digests which are published by HMIC’s
‘Empowered to come forward’
Rape Monitoring Group, and draw together a range of official data, including police recorded crime figures.
The report said: ‘It may be that in the wake of publicity associated with the late Jimmy Savile and other historical abuse cases, more adult survivors of child sexual abuse, as well as more recent victims, have felt empowered to come forward to tell the police about sexual abuse.’
Campaign Group Women’s Aid said 90 per cent survivors of the most serious sexual assaults knew the culprit, and 56 per cent of perpetrators were partners or ex-partners.
Chief executive Polly Neate said: ‘The number of cases that do not go to trial because women do not support action is shocking but does not surprise us at all.
‘The criminal justice route is not always the most appropriate for rape survivors. It is time-consuming, distressing and expensive. There is also still the problem of victim-blaming which means survivors can feel pressure to withdraw claims.
‘Survivors often know their rapist intimately which can add another layer of pressure.’
Sarah Green, co- director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said: ‘The ongoing enormous rise in victims reporting rape to the police is stark and shows that the shame around this abuse may be declining and the desire to seek justice increasing.’
Wendy Williams, chairman of the monitoring group, said: ‘The intention for the release of these digests is to encourage a more thorough analysis of how rape is dealt with throughout the criminal justice process.’