how to get more help and support
Obtaining help and support can be daunting, especially if you have no experience of
dealing with the support services. In this section you can find details of how
some of the support services can provide help.
Professional help and support is available from many sources; support organisations,
the health care services,
the police
and the law courts.
The following information is applicable to the United Kingdom only.
Most of the main organisations that offer help to victims of rape and sexual assault
can be accessed by phone; their numbers can be provided by directory inquiries:
The main objective of the medical procedure is to check for, and record all injuries,
and to take the necessary measures to ensure the assault victim is made to feel as
comfortable as possible. In most police stations it is possible to request a female
doctor. Any injuries recorded will be used in evidence if the matter goes to trial.
If the rape/sexual assault has happened within the previous 72 hours, there may be
valuable forensic evidence. If there has been penetration and ejaculation, an internal
examination may be able to retrieve bodily fluids that may be tested and linked through
DNA to the perpetrator. The internal examination and swabs taken are also important
from the point of view of the assault victim’s health, as it will be necessary to check
for the presence of any sexually transmitted diseases. For females of mensurable age it
may be necessary to carry out a pregnancy test.
If the assault victim does not intend to pursue the matter through the criminal justice
system it is very important that they should seek some form of medical assistance either
by approaching their own General Practitioner or other health care worker.
After the police take a statement they have the discretion to decide, based on a number
of factors, whether or not the matter goes forward to the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP). The case will not be forwarded to the DPP if the victim
retracts the allegations or admits to them being untrue, or the police believe that
there is not enough evidence to proceed with the case.
The case is then put before the DPP. It is this department which decides whether there
is a strong enough case to proceed to trial. It is also at this stage that a number of
cases do not go to trial as a result of "plea-bargaining". This is
where the DPP and the Defence Counsel (the legal representative for the accused) agree
to a lesser charge (for example indecent assault) in return for a guilty plea from the
defendant. This action is often carried out without the knowledge or consent of the
victim.
Having surmounted the hurdles of the police and DPP procedures, the next procedural
obstacle that the victim must confront is the trial process in the law courts.
Many women have been discouraged from reporting the crime of rape as a result of the
experiences of women who have already gone through the trial process. The plight of
victims in rape trials was highlighted by the House of Lords decision in
Director of Public Prosecutions v Morgan and others where the defendant
(the accused) in a rape case was allowed to cross-examine the rape victim, this caused
widespread public concern. In order to address this concern a committee was set up and
recommended an amendment to the existing legislation to prevent a repetition of this
type of scenario. The legislation was also intended to prevent the harassment of rape
complainants through the use of previous sexual history evidence other than with the
accused.
These statutory restrictions were loosely interpreted by the judiciary and subsequently
provided little protection to the rape victim. Women complained that they felt
as though they had been on trial and not the defendant. Many have felt
distressed and humiliated and also felt that the questions they were asked about their
dress, behaviour and lifestyle irrelevant.
The victim gets no legal assistance, although there are proposals to change this. The
counsel for the prosecution represents the state, and the victim, and in many cases will
not even have met the victim before the trial. The counsel for the defence (the
accused's legal representative), will use every means to discredit the rape victim. Some
victims have complained that their experience in court was negative and destructive,
others have considered the ordeal worse than the rape itself; one leading academic
termed this as "judicial rape".
Further reforms have been introduced which prohibit any reference to previous sexual
behaviour unless it is similar to, or at, or about, the same time as, the alleged
assault.
In spite of these difficulties, it is crucial that victims of such crimes reach out to
each other and the support organistions for the help and support that is there to assist
them through what is undoubtedly a very traumatic time.
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