Question about rape

[SharonGless]

Ok - am throwing self in at deep end dipping toe in the water here.

I am a police officer and have dealt with a number of rape victims. I have one case that I am still struggling to come to terms with. As a police officer I did my job but I still am not happy about the outcome.

Girl meets boy in nightclub - goes back to his place and has consensual sex 3 times.
She wakes up in morning with him having sex with her again which she consents to. However when she realises he has not worn a condom on this occasion (has done on previous occasions) she is hysterical and phones police stating she has been raped. They had had discussions prior to having sex and she stated she would only have sex with condom.

Male was arrested, subject to intimate samples, kept in police custody for nearly 24 hours and interviewed.

I interviewed the victim and get her account of what has happened.

The case was not taken to court on the basis that it was too difficult to prove the consent issue although this was before the current legislation.

This is about 9 years ago and i still wonder about the victim and the effect it had on her. I really do feel it is a borderline case and would like to know the views on MN.

I have kept it deliberately vague for obvious reasons so am not drip feeding information iyswim

I can see why it wouldn't have gone to court as a rape case.

But it's a terrible breach of trust. Presumably technically if the girl had fallen pregnant or contracted an STD she may have been able to bring a charge of ABH?

Thats why I have been struggling with it for all these years. I feel a sense of guilt and failure for this victim.

It is rape now dittany - the law on consent wasn't as clear as it is now

Presumably cases such as this led to changes in the law. The law at the time failed the victim - not you

It seems fairly clear but perhaps not expressed clearly in the interview. Nine years ago you would have had a problem convincing CPS but sorry to say it is down to the interview of the victim....seems like you realise that the interview was not what it could have been.

I feel that she was totally let down by the system - although as I say things have changed dramatically now.

Yes things have changed and hopefully attitudes have changed - not quickly enough though. I do think that this is so under reported because women do not have faith that they will be treated fairly/sensitively

How do we encourage women to report this form of rape which is so much more endemic?

Its the age old problem I suppose that if it is a "stranger" rape then society is more sympathetic whereas if it is a case of woman saying no in whatever circumstance (date rape, partner rape etc) then "society" deems it to be a lesser offence.

The effects to the victim are the same and it is unbelievable that in this so called enlightened age we are still treating women (and men) like this

I am feeling quite terrified at the thought that someone could have sex with a woman while she was asleep and claim that silence was consent.

She should have been able to take it to court. The condom thing is a bit of a red herring (although makes things even worse), since the reason she didn't realise he wasn't wearing one was because she was sleeping.

Do you think this case would get to court now?

In answer to your question, I think many women are put off reporting by the reaction that they (often rightly) fear they will get from family, friends and - sorry it seems churlish to say but it's true - from the police. Think about all those women who went to the police to report Kirk Reid and John Warboys, and were laughed at or turned away. Frankly I used to think I would definitely go to the police, but after those cases I'm not su=o sure, I think that disbelief from them would be the last straw.

What do you think of attitudes amongst your colleagues?

Elephants - I do think that attitudes have improved dramatically towards rape in the 16 years I have been in the police. Victims are seen by a specially trained officer straight away and more emphasis placed on early evidence kits to ensure that any drugs that may have been used on the victim are detected ie in urine. More of the officers who are being trained are male which does change their perceptions once they have been on the course.

Part of the introduction on the course is to imagine your first sexual experience and spend 5 minutes thinking about what happened, how it felt and you will discuss it with the person sitting next to you. As you are on a course this person is a stranger. The trainers then tell them they don't actually have to share these details with a stranger but that this is an insight how a rape victim will feel about sharing a non consensual sexual experience iyswim. The male officers I know who have been on the course found this particularly impactive. i know that there used to be a culture of police women dealing with rape victims and it should be victim led - if they prefer a female officer they will get one. however it can only help to train male officers

However I work in a multicultural inner city area and officers are more enlightened perhaps. I have to say that more suburban areas still have a culture that needs changing but this is society in general. How do we change this? More women joining the police in the last 16 years has definitely helped - think the stats are something like 30% is female.

I would hope that this case to get to court but CPS have targets to meet and don't put a case forward unless it has a realistic prospect of conviction. As I don't currently work in this area I don't know what the postition is with sexual abuse and CPS so I can't comment. Only rape trained lawyers review the case and make the decision so hopefully there would be more cases like this prosecuted

Sorry for waffling away

Elephants - I do think that attitudes have improved dramatically towards rape in the 16 years I have been in the police. Victims are seen by a specially trained officer straight away and more emphasis placed on early evidence kits to ensure that any drugs that may have been used on the victim are detected ie in urine. More of the officers who are being trained are male which does change their perceptions once they have been on the course.

Part of the introduction on the course is to imagine your first sexual experience and spend 5 minutes thinking about what happened, how it felt and you will discuss it with the person sitting next to you. As you are on a course this person is a stranger. The trainers then tell them they don't actually have to share these details with a stranger but that this is an insight how a rape victim will feel about sharing a non consensual sexual experience iyswim. The male officers I know who have been on the course found this particularly impactive. i know that there used to be a culture of police women dealing with rape victims and it should be victim led - if they prefer a female officer they will get one. however it can only help to train male officers

However I work in a multicultural inner city area and officers are more enlightened perhaps. I have to say that more suburban areas still have a culture that needs changing but this is society in general. How do we change this? More women joining the police in the last 16 years has definitely helped - think the stats are something like 30% is female.

I would hope that this case to get to court but CPS have targets to meet and don't put a case forward unless it has a realistic prospect of conviction. As I don't currently work in this area I don't know what the postition is with sexual abuse and CPS so I can't comment. Only rape trained lawyers review the case and make the decision so hopefully there would be more cases like this prosecuted

Sorry for waffling away