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Rape myths must not be allowed to persist within the police Rape myths must not be allowed to persist within the police
(35 minutes later)
It is now 32 years since the televised sight of Thames Valley police officers patronising and disbelieving a traumatised rape victim outraged the nation. It proved a watershed, shining light on the disgraceful way these awful crimes were routinely handled, away from the gaze of the public. Specialist rape units proliferated thereafter, officers received detailed training in how to deal with rape trauma and, crucially, how to provide the appropriate level of support and re-assurance to victims. We turned a corner. It is now 32 years since the televised sight of Thames Valley police officers patronising and disbelieving a traumatised rape victim outraged the nation. It proved a watershed, shining light on the disgraceful way these awful crimes were routinely handled, away from the gaze of the public. Specialist rape units proliferated thereafter, officers received detailed training in how to deal with rape trauma and, crucially, how to provide the appropriate level of support and reassurance to victims. We turned a corner.
But there is a misconception about societal progress and it is that advances consolidate themselves. They do not. We take two steps forward, and then one back. This seems to be what has happened in terms of the handling by the judicial authorities of rape. But there is a misconception about societal progress, and it is that advances consolidate themselves. They do not. We take two steps forward, and then one back. This seems to be what has happened in terms of the handling by the judicial authorities of rape.
The news today is grim. Alison Saunders, the relatively new director of public prosecutions, reveals that after five successive years of increases in the number of successful rape prosecutions, the conviction rate has dropped. In 2007/8, 58% of cases brought to trial were successfully convicted. By 2011/12, that figure had risen to 63%. Since then, it has declined to 60%. And the number of cases sent to the CPS by police forces up and down the country also fell in 2012/13 despite the number of rapes being reported rising by 30%. That figure is beginning to rise again but the overall picture is worrying. The news today is grim. Alison Saunders, the relatively new director of public prosecutions, reveals that after five successive years of increases in the number of successful rape prosecutions, the conviction rate has dropped. In 2007-08, 58% of cases brought to trial were successfully convicted. By 2011-12, that figure had risen to 63%. Since then, it has declined to 60%. And the number of cases sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by police forces up and down the country also fell in 2012-13 despite the number of rapes being reported rising by 30%. That figure is beginning to rise again but the overall picture is worrying.
The police, having seen the victims and weighed the evidence, have been less inclined to even contemplate the possibility that the victim deserves the protection of the courts. And then something has been happening once the file reaches prosecutors. Maybe the files received by them have been of insufficient quality to secure a conviction. Perhaps they haven't prosecuted those cases with sufficient zeal. Whatever it is, Saunders is right to raise the alarm and to insist that the decline is addressed immediately.The police, having seen the victims and weighed the evidence, have been less inclined to even contemplate the possibility that the victim deserves the protection of the courts. And then something has been happening once the file reaches prosecutors. Maybe the files received by them have been of insufficient quality to secure a conviction. Perhaps they haven't prosecuted those cases with sufficient zeal. Whatever it is, Saunders is right to raise the alarm and to insist that the decline is addressed immediately.
Not least because her initial diagnosis of the problem suggests the need to re-assert some of the fundamentals of dealing with rape. Even now, 32 years after the Thames Valley watershed, she fears rape investigations remain subject to myths and stereotypes. Such as who is the victim? Was she complicit? What was she wearing? One case being cited involves a prosecutor dropping a case and telling the complainant that one factor he considered was "the kind of underwear you had on". When we prosecute murder, we analyse the act itself. The worry is that rape is treated differently. "It is about making sure that we take into account all the circumstances of the offence and don't just look at the victim and their vulnerabilities," said Saunders. Which is clearly right. But isn't it extraordinary that something as obvious as that needs saying? Not least because her initial diagnosis of the problem suggests the need to reassert some of the fundamentals of dealing with rape. Even now, 32 years after the Thames Valley watershed, she fears rape investigations remain subject to myths and stereotypes. Such as who is the victim? Was she complicit? What was she wearing? One case being cited involves a prosecutor dropping a case and telling the complainant that one factor he considered was "the kind of underwear you had on". When we prosecute murder, we analyse the act itself. The worry is that rape is treated differently. "It is about making sure that we take into account all the circumstances of the offence and don't just look at the victim and their vulnerabilities," said Saunders. Which is clearly right. But isn't it extraordinary that something as obvious as that needs saying?
There is a truth about the search for equity and social progress. The initial victory only counts for so much. More important is the process of consolidation. When the problem is myths and stereotypes, be they about gender, or sexuality or race, or any other area that challenges the default assumptions of the white, heterosexual males who control the levers of power, the effort must be unceasing. As soon as the pressure falls off, the default position asserts itself. When we are not moving forward, we go backwards.There is a truth about the search for equity and social progress. The initial victory only counts for so much. More important is the process of consolidation. When the problem is myths and stereotypes, be they about gender, or sexuality or race, or any other area that challenges the default assumptions of the white, heterosexual males who control the levers of power, the effort must be unceasing. As soon as the pressure falls off, the default position asserts itself. When we are not moving forward, we go backwards.
Saunders does well to make it clear that the pressure is back on. The police and prosecutors must do their jobs, giving rape victims that same chance to claim justice as those who suffer other violent offences. There must be much greater transparency, more much accountability, more whistleblowing. If the police and prosecutors make perverse decisions, we need to know about them. Above all, there needs be an unequivocal reassertion of the truth that three decades after the Thames Valley watershed, the old default position is just not acceptable.Saunders does well to make it clear that the pressure is back on. The police and prosecutors must do their jobs, giving rape victims that same chance to claim justice as those who suffer other violent offences. There must be much greater transparency, more much accountability, more whistleblowing. If the police and prosecutors make perverse decisions, we need to know about them. Above all, there needs be an unequivocal reassertion of the truth that three decades after the Thames Valley watershed, the old default position is just not acceptable.