Three-quarters of rape victims in England and Wales responded to the largest ever survey of rape and sexual assault survivors and said their mental health was damaged “as a direct result of what police did, or failed to do, in their case” and only one in 10 said they would report again, according to researchers.
One in five said they have been pressured by officers to withdraw, with black and minority ethnic survivors having worse experiences than white respondents.
The survey showed “good police responses are possible” but exposed that “some officers are still only covering the basics”, said Sarah Crew, the national police lead on rape and Operation Soteria. “Disadvantage, discrimination, and contextual incompetence are still being felt,” she said.
The survey also reveals that securing a conviction was less important to victims than stopping perpetrators and making them realise their actions were wrong. When given a list of seven “positive outcome” options, securing a conviction came last: 88% of respondents said that stopping the perpetrator from raping again was “extremely important”, compared with 56% who said a conviction was extremely important to them.
Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said the findings of the survey were “stark” and showed the police response “still isn’t good enough”.
Source: The Guadien