Feminism: chat
The rape interview that shocked 1980s Britain
WarriorN · 25/06/2021 21:15
Absolutely appalling approach and tbh I don't feel we are as far on as we think we are from this.
It wasn't actually that long ago.
The police rape interview that shocked 1980s Britain www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-57485617
AuntieStella · 26/06/2021 06:52
I don't remember seeing that when it was on (and I would have been old enough)
It's quite a contrast to today's BBC, isn't it?
www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/ncj230576.pdf is a piece about the changes to police practice from 1985 (3 years after this broadcast) onwards.
And yes, the BBC back then had uncovered something shocking, that was in the public interest to have exposed.
WarriorN · 26/06/2021 07:10
Id say police stations have drastically improved but I feel that this attitude is still in the conscience of some men in society.
I had to pick up a male friend last year (who isn't so much now) for a post victim blaming what women wear on fb. He treated my comment as if it was a personal attack and I was being completely unreasonable. 🤔
And the failings in some police forces are clearly still there.
TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 26/06/2021 07:18
I saw that yesterday and it was the first time I'd seen it.
It worries me that we have made surface progress - but how many male police officers might still be secretly of that attitude still behind the "sensitivity training"? I'm not saying that they are, just that it's so hard to shake that feeling that Germaine Greer articulated: "Women fail to understand how much men hate them".
That interview showed that hate, I thought.
Tanith · 26/06/2021 15:09
It was my local police force and part of a series of "fly on the wall" documentaries about the police at the time.
I don't remember that anyone lost their jobs, or was reprimanded.
I do remember they excused themselves by saying the complainant had mental health issues and often complained of rape. Whether that was true or not, I don't know.
PearPickingPorky · 26/06/2021 16:09
@Imissmoominmama
I think things have improved in police stations since then, but there is still a big issue around rapists not being prosecuted if the victim is deemed too fragile to undergo cross examination.
I think the attitudes driving those questions from the policemen are still common today. Some police are better at hiding it now, but their thought process is the same, as is lots of men's, and that contributes to the very poor conviction rates and the way rape victims are still treated by the criminal justice system.
I wonder what the rape conviction rape was 40 years ago? Was it better or worse than today's 1.7%?
PerkingFaintly · 26/06/2021 16:15
Need to be careful with percentages, though, because reporting rates of rape may well have been low – see behaviour of police and rest of society for why.
So a drop in conviction rates calculated on reported rapes, could still correspond to an increase in the actual rapes getting convictions. Would need actual figures.
TheSockMonster · 26/06/2021 16:28
That was the first time I’d seen that. Utterly horrifying. If they were like that when being filmed, imagine what they felt they could get away with when the cameras were not there?!
I do think women are treated better by the police now, but I suspect that not many more achieve justice. So few cases make it to court as the police either feel the required evidence is not there or the woman is not prepared to hand over her phone and let her life and character be pulled to shreds. A lot of the time I think rape is chucked in the same ‘bin’ as car theft and stolen phones and only properly investigated if it looks like there is a good chance of conviction from the offset. Had a drink? A history of mental health problems? Not a chance!
PearPickingPorky · 26/06/2021 17:46
@PerkingFaintly
So a drop in conviction rates calculated on reported rapes, could still correspond to an increase in the actual rapes getting convictions. Would need actual figures.
Most rapes today aren't reported either.
Really, there is no way to know without knowing exactly how many tales took place. Which we can never know.
MrsOvertonsWindow · 26/06/2021 17:46
I watched this at the time - and it was a game changer of a programme. Those of us working in the newly emerging rape crisis centres already knew how appallingly women were treated - from the initial complaint through to the courts.
Although things did change in terms of how women were treated, as our current dismal statistics demonstrate, we appear to have gone backwards.
jellyfrizz · 28/06/2021 07:30
I had seen these sketches parodying the situation and knew it was bad but had no idea how terribly women were/are treated.
mobile.twitter.com/bbccomedy/status/840315832005738496
m.youtube.com/watch?v=A0L4V5BWITM
nettie434 · 28/06/2021 09:18
I remember the programme - Roger Graef did a lot of investigative reporting on crime - but hadn't realised its impact at the time. Sadly, this progress seems to have stalled.
I wonder what the rape conviction rape was 40 years ago? Was it better or worse than today's 1.7%?
www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/plan-to-reverse-five-year-slump-in-rape-prosecutions-e2-80-98should-only-be-first-step-e2-80-99/ar-AALlGd4
That would be interesting. With a quick search, I could only find a reference to 15% five years ago. Pitifully low but better than the current figures.
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