Seventy-five percent of those who complain of rape or sexual assault say the police investigation hurt and mentally destabilized them, according to a new study published in the UK.
The study involved 2,000 victims across Wales and England who participated in a government programme to improve legal proceedings for the victims. According to Sky News, 42% of respondents said they didn't always feel believed. 56% said they probably would not have reported another such attack. One victim even said: "I'm more afraid of the police than of being raped again." In another case, the respondent claimed that the rapist was an acting police officer who had never been suspended or arrested.
London policeman on duty (archive), photo: AP
Only 26% of respondents said they felt understood by the officers. 31% did not feel safe in the presence of police officers. Only 37% felt that police officers cared about them.
"These findings point to the great damage that poor policing has done to female victims," said Professor Katherine Hall, a criminologist at City University of London, who led the study. However, she says there are also reasons for optimism: In the past three months, there has been an improvement in victims' reports of encounters with investigators. Of those, 60 percent said the police had done a good job — a real jump from 36 percent who said so earlier this year.
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