To be sad and horrified that rape convictions have dropped to 1.7%

[darkriver19886]

I am utterly horrified. This article came up on my newsfeed and I am shocked that it has dropped so low and it's likely it will be dropped even further with the move to take victims phones.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/rape-victims-phones-police-investigation-disclosure-forms-cps-a8888376.html?fbclid=IwAR00s8kr5yRHXzqN1xQqeoL95A6u1VYidBaPV-T0RPAe8sclst-b6b5aiFk

It's a hideous indictment on our society and our judicial system that such a hideous crime can be swept aside like it's nothing.

Yanbu. It’s appalling and I can’t see it improving any time soon.

I completely agree I was a CSA victim and reported my abuser to the police when I was 17 and he wasn't prosecuted due to lack of evidence.

People keep telling me things have changed and if I tried to report him now the police would believe me more but, stuff likes this makes me very reluctant.

I was raped 2 years ago. I reported it, when through the examination etc. The police screwed up the evidence. The detective got a written warning for it. But my case couldn't be proceeded with because of it. Though they didn't realise this until 18 months into the "investigation". I don't think I will ever get over them messing up my case. I know the chances of getting it to Court, and conviction rates, but to know it was destroyed before it even got that far is hard to take. I don't even blame the particular detective who got the warning (and him getting that didn't help me in the slightest!). I know he was trying to juggle too many cases at once because of all the budget cuts. If anything ever happened to me in future I wouldn't report it. I went through 18 months of trauma for absolutely nothing. Women are being raped every day and men are just getting away with it. It's disgusting.

My son's girlfriend was raped and although the police agreed she'd been raped the CPS decided not to take it to trial.

During the rape her attacker told her not to bother reporting it as he'd got away with it the last time.

He was right, wasn't he?

Rape is effectively legal at this point.

Like driving 71 in a 70.

It's a scandal.

During the rape her attacker told her not to bother reporting it as he'd got away with it the last time

Yep. Without going into all the ins and outs, the police told me that my attacker was "clever" and knew exactly what to say to make it impossible to prove I'd been raped. So, even if my case had made it to Court, I doubt he'd have been convicted. These guys know exactly what they're doing.

Someone very close to me was raped over 20 years ago. These stats fill me with such feelings of rage and sadness and impotence and...just...I don't know. I can't even articulate it properly.

I joke to my husband about 'the patriarchy' but fuck me it's actually depressing when you think about where we are in 2019

I've been raped twice. One they went to trial with, but I wouldn't give evidence so it was dropped for lack of evidence, the other one the CPS refused to proceed with charges on, on the basis of lack of forensic evidence - so a he said/she said.

TBH the first was more traumatic and I possibly had a chance of getting a conviction, but the second wasn't nearly as traumatic for me - it wasn't a stranger violent rape, so I was a little disappointed at not really being believed, but not terribly so.

The problem is the intrusion into your life and the prolonging of reliving it, while you should be trying to recover from it. You're actually at your most fragile after a particularly traumatic rape - emotionally - so for me personally I literally couldn't physically get to a police station to make a statement as I kept vomiting. I actually began to recover when he was jailed for another crime as the fear of meeting him again wasn't there.

Police do try to support you, but the questions they ask you are all a little bit 'did you try to defend yourself', 'could you have consented' etc. etc. A bit victim blamey. I suppose in an attempt to see if the case would resist a trial. But it is traumatic.

Having read coverage of some rape cases, in particular one in Northern Ireland where 3 rugby players were accused and acquitted of the rape of a 19 year old I think, I really wouldn't recommend women go through with it. Not unless you're at you're strongest emotionally (which you're unlikely to be).

www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/inside-court-12-the-complete-story-of-the-belfast-rape-trial-1.3443620

This is NI, so perhaps different to other parts of Britain in terms of the court system, but I would highly recommend anyone considering going to court for a rape trial reads this and considers whether they could withstand this mentally.

I know I'm not exactly promoting prosecutions here, but since prosecutions are in short supply, one does have to ask yourself - what is the point - and if they get acquitted, was it worth it.

It's a grim stat, but I'm not sure there's an easy answer. In the vast majority of cases, there are no independent witnesses and although intercourse having place is easy to establish, the question of consent is one person's word against another. It's very hard to establish guilt "beyond all reasonable doubt" in those circumstances.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46207304

This was another trial that would really put you off going to trial. Again he was acquitted - in part because she was wearing nice underwear.

Rape is effectively legal. It defies words.

And violent murder is becoming more so.

I think, effectively, beating a female stranger black and blue (the sex being incidental) MAY be illegal (unless you claim she wanted the beating...) but rape, itself, is not illegal.

It just isn't.

If it cant be prosecuted, it cant be illegal. Sex without consent cannot be prosecuted without a confession, so it's just not illegal.

Rape is not illegal.

I think the trick is to have several impartial witnesses, who don't know you, are willing to testify and are white men. Even then, Like Brock Turner, you'll only get six months but at least you get a conviction. FFS. If you record your rape you still can't get a conviction.

FFS, I suppose pp is right and with stats like that it might as well be legal. And this, alongside all those cases of murdered women with the defence of 'sex game gone wrong'. It's awful, women count for shit in this country.

I agree it's almost impossible to prosecute.

A handful of times, I have seen on here women saying their partner has raped them. They don't usually put it that way, but it is rape. They then get dozens of replies urging them to report him. If you can't get a trial or a conviction for a stranger or date rape then how the hell are you going to get one for a partner rape? (The only exception might be in a case with serious DV, then they might pursue it alongside that). As a PP said, reporting is a horrific process, which prolongs the trauma. That's why I wouldn't report again. I would just focus on trying to heal. Although since it happened to me, I don't date any more. I don't trust men in general any more (other than very longstanding male friends & family).

A few years ago male perpetrators of DV used to get sentenced to do a DV programme where their behaviour was at least challenged and monitored. The victims used to be allocated a Women's Safety Officer. Where I live, that's been scrapped. Now they just get a few hours of Community Service (the victim gets no support), which half the time they don't bother to do. Don't even think about prison, they're full and Judges have been told not to sentence to prison unless there's absolutely no alternative.

Men can do what they want to women with very few, if any, consequences.

Yep, it's scandalous, rape if pretty much legal.

You're average joe doesn't give two hoots though unfortunately.

I was raped in 2006. I reported it, the detective working on the case didn't believe me, it was clear, she didn't even bother collecting further evidence such as texts messages where he was admitting what he'd done and apologising for it.

There were actually text messages where I'd told him he'd force himself on me, and he'd replied saying sorry and he's a cunt for what he'd done.

It was a truly horrific experience, and not being believed was in some ways worse than the actual rape.

The person who did it laughed in my face afterwards.

It sounds as though nothing has changed.

What needs to be changed within the system?

How can the process be changed to improve the conviction rates?

I am so sorry for everyone's personal experiences. It's depressing times we live in for sure.

Going through this with my DD right now. So many fuck ups by police, SARC, evidence etc. I have a thread in relationships about the shit storm she is going through. Rape is pretty much legal. Police who dealt with her case were an uncaring bunch of useless cunts

I don't think courts should be allowed to A. mention what a woman was wearing or B. pick apart a witnesses entire life. She is talking about one night. What she did in 1985 has nothing to do with what happened last year.

What needs to be changed within the system

Well for a start we need more, and better trained police, not going to happen with all the funding cuts.

We need a CPS that's willing to take more cases to Court, not reject them for often spurious reasons. Don't see how that will happen either.

We probably also need a major societal shift, where people realise that most rape victims are not lying! Yes it happens on occasion but it's not common. Reporting a rape is intrusive, traumatic and not something many people would do just for the hell of it.

My rapist went to great lengths to hide his real identity (it was a date rape). I was honest all the way through. Apparently he told the police he took all those steps in case I was a psycho who was going to stalk him! Um no, he took all those steps to hide his identity because he was going to rape me! I still don't know the man's real name. He did what he did and I don't even know his name.

They need to review the law. I feel conviction rates would be higher if the onus if proof was reversed and the accused had to prove consent was given. Although that would have its own issues it seems better than the current approach and would certainly make people more careful about consent.