Rape victims deserve more support every step of their way to court

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/28/rape-victims-deserve-more-support-every-step-of-their-way-to-court

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Pondering the continuing failure to bring rape cases to court, one can no longer ignore the issue of victim withdrawal. This is when, after taking the first daunting step of reporting rape, victims become so overwhelmed by the system that a significant number give up. What’s happening to rape’s “disappeared”? Why do they feel unable to continue with the process?

According to Home Office figures, only one in 65 rape cases (less than 1.5%) reported to the police in England and Wales results in a summons or charge (down from one in seven in 2015). At the same time, significantly more people, many inspired by the likes of #MeToo, are reporting attacks – a rise of 61% between 2015 and 2019. So, while more possible rapes are reported, many cases are dropped or stopped by the police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), or victims themselves are withdrawing.

Ministry of Justice figures show that alleged rape victims are also being made to wait longer to go to court. Sexual assault charges require thorough investigation and have a lower guilty plea rate than other crimes, causing more delays. There’s also the sheer volume of evidence, including mobile phone and laptop data (and more), described by some as a “digital strip search”. Unless there’s full disclosure from the defendant, the police or CPS have been known to drop cases or refuse to proceed. All of which needs to be explored, but still doesn’t fully explain victim withdrawal.

Obviously, rape cases need to be dealt with meticulously – the accused stands to lose everything. However, are victims supported enough during this unavoidably tough process? Why do they feel able to take the hugely courageous step of reporting their rape, but then drop out? There’s a host of potential reasons, including fear of repercussions, pressure to drop charges, the dearth of rape cases reaching court (never mind prosecuted successfully), resulting in a culture of hopelessness, investigative procedures such as the digital strip search, the near impossibility of anonymity in the era of social media and the drawn-out process of getting the case to court.

Despite all the improvements in police methods and social attitudes, there’s also enduring stigma of sexual assault… the list sprawls on. It would seem that victims still suffer many of the sociohistorical scars and burdens of sexual assault, but with added new modern pressures. Who could blame them for losing heart and what could help here?

In the specific area of victim withdrawal, the obvious answer is increased funding for victim support – not just to reach the police, but rape survivor charities and women’s support groups. However gruelling the process, the victim needs to continue feeling at least as confident as she did when she first reported the rape. Should any rape victim choose to withdraw their case, that’s their decision, to be respected, but it should never be because they feel unsupported and overwhelmed.

Now listen up – this could be the end of subtitles

Why am I always using subtitles when my hearing is fine? To address this problem, the BBC is testing slider-button technology that tunes out background noise, while amplifying voices. The technology, still in an experimental stage, would grade sounds in order of importance. Essential sounds such as dialogue would remain prominent, while dispensable noises could be turned down – all as much or as little as the viewer wishes.

That sounds (ha!) interesting. Time was, subtitles would be an indicator that something cultural and European was going on chez Ellen – perhaps some Scandi noir. These days, it just means that the television is on. Dialogue from shows such as Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders, Chernobyl and, well, anything really, increasingly needs to be read as well as heard. Which is annoying, as subtitles often appear huge and splattered over people’s faces in the middle of the screen. Sometimes, I don’t even bother to try to listen. I’ve wondered whether I should just give up and invest in an ear trumpet, but my hearing is good, and my young daughter often can’t hear dialogue either. There have been so many complaints to the BBC about unintelligible dialogue in programmes such as Jamaica Inn and Happy Valley that questions have been asked in parliament.

The problems seem mainly caused by overloud music and/or background noise, teamed with actors “naturalistically” mumbling or whispering. To be fair to actors, so often mocked for going all Marlon Brando, it’s not as though there are many roles that require them to orate and boom like town criers. While still experimental, this audio technology could benefit the hard of hearing (11 million people in the UK), commuters on trains or buses trying to watch television on their phones and, of course, people like myself who really need to know what people in swimwear half my age are bickering about on Love Island. Nobody claimed that it would sort out questionable viewing choices.

It’s hard to celebrate Dyson cleaning up in Singapore

James Dyson seems to be settling in wonderfully in Singapore, first buying the region’s most expensive apartment (£43m), and now another gaff (a snip at £26.5m) with its own waterfall. I don’t know about you, but I feel as though I should be dashing over to Singapore with a basket of muffins as a housewarming gift for the inventor.

Now that the dust has settled, is it time to suck it up, perchance with the bagless vacuum cleaner that made Dyson’s name (other brands are available)?

Does it matter that Dyson was a vocal cheerleader for Brexit, only to uproot his company HQ and relocate to Singapore in a move that looked suspiciously like an attempt to avoid damage caused by, well, Brexit? Dyson (still running research facilities in the UK) says that Brexit had nothing (nothing, he says!) to do with the move. Yet people are still griping as though he’d irresponsibly scarpered.

I’m embarrassed for Britain – can’t a bloke enjoy his private waterfall in a south-east Asian corporate tax haven in peace? We all need to get over it and wish Dyson well. In due course, perhaps we could all club together, using whatever becomes the new exciting post-Brexit currency (Groats? Bone-necklaces? Hunks of human hair?) to send our favourite billionaire that tasty basket of muffins.