Semina Halliwell. Another child failed. Another victim of incompetence,apathy and disregard for women's and girls' lives.

[ldontWanna]

news.sky.com/story/amp/semina-halliwell-rape-victim-12-took-her-own-life-directly-after-police-interview-her-mother-tells-sky-news-12582931

There's a lot that can be said. There's a lot that should be said. I don't have it in me tonight though.
It's just so sad and terrifying that a victim, a child of only 12 , can be treated so callously,so blasé, with such indifference and carelessness.

Ironically , her mum has been charged with the assault of (what it sounds like) one of the perpetrators of the abuse/harassment.

I guess that wasn't too much paperwork to fill.

This is just heartbreaking. The police involved all need sacking. No words it's awful

This is appalling. That poor child and that poor family. What on earth is wrong with the Police?

Fucked up beyond belief :( those police need serious investigation

The police prove time and time and time again that as an institution they do not give a shit about women and girls.

Jesus Christ

And yet, the police will arrest women for putting up fucking stickers. I guess the paperwork isn't as taxing when it's a man making the complaint against a woman....

RIP Semina, you deserved so much better.

It beggars belief that the police can refuse to investigate crimes because it's too much like hard work for them. And nothing can be done about it, no consequences for anyone. Horrific.

Heartbreaking xx

She was only 12. Not only did the police failed to investigate, but her and her family were subject to attacks and abuse for speaking out. We keep telling women and girls that they must report. Why should they? How can they? When shit like this is allowed to go on.

Couldn’t get to the end of the article, it’s so upsetting. Poor, poor girl. So utterly heartbreaking 💔 Nobody in a position of authority cared about her.

@Notagardener

Google bulb fields in Netherlands. Spring time

What?

@IncompleteSenten

The police prove time and time and time again that as an institution they do not give a shit about women and girls.

It really does seem that this is the case 😥

And yet a student got jailed for tweeting an insult about a footballer. I guess police care about football but not about rape victims.

Another police failure

What message does this send to women and girls?
Any current and future victims?
It's hard enough as it is to just decide to report, to balance all the possibilities and outcomes, to be your harshest critic to assess if there's a possibility you won't be believed.

In a way I wish this story would have surfaced , so victims aren't even more disenhartened and discouraged.

However, it needs to be out. This is why women don't report. This is why they wait. This is why they're afraid. This is why no victim should ever be shamed , guilted or bullied into reporting their rape/assault. The lack of trust in police, it's entirely the police's fault. Not the victim's.

I feel like I’m reading a story from 2002, not 2022. How depressing.

I just can't get over the fact that the police questioned her in her own house, a child, and she left the room and took those pills. She must have been beyond despairing at that point, and the police just didn't care about her as a child, as a vulnerable autistic child, who was reporting being raped. How can the police lack empathy to that extent. Just awful.

I couldn't recommend anyone reporting a sexual assault to the police, nor stalking, or domestic abuse, so many other crimes. Their only use seems to be to generate a crime number for insurance claims on property crime, and that's about it. Oh, and crowd control at sporting or other events.

@Justmeandmycats

I feel like I’m reading a story from 2002, not 2022. How depressing.

It might feel that we are going forward. Different agencies might claim we are moving forward and use all the right sound bites.

I honestly don't think we are.

Bar the social media aspect and harassment,this is a tale as old as time. You can go through the centuries and there will be many many Seminas, treated just the same,with the same tragic outcome.

Such a gorgeous girl. This is horrific. The police are perpetrators in this in my opinion

That poor, poor child. She was totally failed.

@nocoolnamesleft

That poor, poor child. She was totally failed.

She was worse than failed. She was further traumatised and abused by the police,by her peers,by her perpetrator. And every single time (bar one) no action taken, don't rock the boat.

Yeah. Further traumatised describes it better. By those who should have been there to protect her. I can't imagine the pain her family must be feeling. And the anger.

That is such an upsetting catalogue of failures on the part of the police. Poor Semina. I note that the report says Semina's mother was convicted for an assault on the allege perpetrator. However, nobody appears to have been charged for the rape, the intimidation or the attack on Semina's grave.

It's a catalogue of failures from small to large with so many systems re-traumatising her.

Recent campaigns have highlighted how sexual assault and rape are tolerated in our schools. Our systems tolerate that and further abuse the girls traumatised by it.

An earlier distressing thread about young children who are raped or sexually assaulted in school and the struggles their mothers had:

In the first incident, a staff member saw the children in the corner of the playground – but then proceeded to tell the girl off.

“She was told off for having her knickers and her tights down around by her knees with one of these boys behind her,” Anna said.

On a second occasion, another member of staff saw one of the boys with his head up her skirt. The assistant told off the girl for letting the boy stick his head up her skirt, and the boys were just told to “run away”. The girl was not talked to separately, asked what had happened or whether she was OK.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3364173-Our-kids-were-raped-by-classmates-DfE-wont-listen