A survey of over 2,000 survivors of rape and sexual assault published today (21 September 2023) confirms what Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) sees on a daily basis: that reporting rape to the police often causes significant further harm over and above the sexual assault itself.
CWJ provides independent legal advice to hundreds of survivors of sexual violence every year. They see how survivors feel deeply let down by the police response:
Police focus on the survivor’s credibility so that she feels she is the one under investigation, with trawls through her personal records such as counselling, school and social services records;
Police fail to follow up evidence that could help to build a case;
Perpetrators’ accounts are accepted at face value and cases dismissed as ‘word on word’ when in fact they could go to court;
Police have little understanding of how sexual violence happens within long-term relationships, expecting survivors to behave in the same way as after a stranger rape;
Investigations are delayed for years, more than two years is common, even three or four, putting huge strain on survivors’ mental health and lives on hold.
The published research was conducted by academics at City, University of London* as part of Operation Soteria, a Home Office funded project intended to transform the policing response to rape.
After a two-year deep dive by academics in Operation Soteria into how rape investigations are conducted across the country, the Home Office announced in June 2023 that a new National Operating Model (NOM) will be rolled out to all police forces. The NOM requires officers to focus on investigating suspects, instead of putting ‘victim credibility’ at the heart of investigations.
Nogah Ofer, Solicitor at CWJ, said: “Operation Soteria has shone a light on how badly the system is failing survivors. But it will be irrelevant unless police forces implement the new model in practice. We are still seeing the same problems on the ground and this survivor survey demonstrates the urgent need for a complete overhaul in the police response to rape.”
Two significant changes in the law would provide protections for rape survivors as they go through the criminal justice process. CWJ, together with other leading women’s sector organisations** are campaigning for the Victims and Prisoners Bill to include:
Access to independent legal advice for all rape survivors.
Presumption of confidentiality for counselling records so that they are not routinely disclosed during rape investigations, to enable survivors to focus on their recovery.
We must ensure that survivors receive the professional support they need, from therapists and from lawyers, to enable them to access the criminal justice system without being even further traumatised.
The survivor survey found that:
75% of survivors said that their mental health had worsened as a direct result of the police response to their report;
42% of survivors said that they did not feel believed by police officers;
39% said they felt less safe after reporting as a result of the police response, with some experiencing further harassment, stalking, assaults and sexual abuse from perpetrators who were emboldened by lack of police action;
56% said they were unlikely to report a rape to the police again, and 44% unlikely to report other crimes to the police.
Harriet Wistrich, Director of CWJ, said: “It is incumbent now on the Home Office to ensure the National Operating Model is adequately resourced and police leaders held accountable for its implementation across all forces.”
ENDS
*Led by Katrin Hohl, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice
** Rape Crisis England & Wales, the End Violence Against Women Coalition and Rights of Women