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This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:07 | |
I'm investigating a crime that affects an astonishingly high number of people - rape. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:12 | |
In Britain today, a woman is raped every ten minutes. | 0:00:12 | 0:00:15 | |
That's six women, every hour of every day. | 0:00:15 | 0:00:19 | |
Yet our conviction rates for this horrific crime are still low. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:23 | |
According to the British Crime Survey, | 0:00:27 | 0:00:30 | |
over 15,000 people reported being raped last year. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:33 | |
But there were just over 1,000 convictions for rape. | 0:00:33 | 0:00:36 | |
That's a massive difference. | 0:00:36 | 0:00:39 | |
Why aren't we doing a better job | 0:00:39 | 0:00:40 | |
of making sure that perpetrators are punished? | 0:00:40 | 0:00:43 | |
How is our system failing victims so badly? | 0:00:43 | 0:00:46 | |
'I met with young women who have survived rape, | 0:00:49 | 0:00:51 | |
'to try and understand what it's like to live through.' | 0:00:51 | 0:00:55 | |
He had a knife to my throat, and he told me | 0:00:55 | 0:00:57 | |
if I don't have sex with him, he's going to rape me. | 0:00:57 | 0:01:01 | |
I discovered that young people are more vulnerable | 0:01:03 | 0:01:07 | |
because they often lack awareness. | 0:01:07 | 0:01:09 | |
There are people out there that are doing this | 0:01:09 | 0:01:13 | |
and don't even realise that they're committing a crime. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
And I confront the people in authority | 0:01:15 | 0:01:18 | |
who are supposed to be putting rapists behind bars. | 0:01:18 | 0:01:21 | |
Very often, people think it's because we don't believe them, | 0:01:21 | 0:01:24 | |
but it's not. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:25 | |
But, ultimately, I confront our own attitudes | 0:01:25 | 0:01:29 | |
and prejudices about who really is to blame for rape. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:34 | |
Rape is not easy to talk about, | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
but it's a problem that's getting worse, | 0:01:52 | 0:01:54 | |
especially for young people. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:56 | |
A recent government campaign highlighted the issue. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:02 | |
-BOY: Stop being weird. -I don't want to. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
Stop! Look at her. She doesn't want to! | 0:02:07 | 0:02:11 | |
I want to find out what's going on. | 0:02:16 | 0:02:18 | |
I'm going to speak to women who are survivors of rape, | 0:02:19 | 0:02:23 | |
to try to understand what effect it has on people's lives. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
I'm starting in Aberdeen. I'm meeting Sarah Scott, a young mum, | 0:02:37 | 0:02:42 | |
who has agreed to speak openly to me about her attack two years ago. | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
-Sarah? -Yeah, hi. -I'm Pips. -Hi! | 0:02:46 | 0:02:49 | |
'She hopes to encourage other women to come forward.' | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
It would be nice to be able to let my guard down sometimes. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
To be able to just relax. I haven't relaxed since the day it happened. | 0:02:58 | 0:03:04 | |
I just want to be the old Sarah, you know? | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
Fun, happy, young girl. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:10 | |
It was Christmas time and, like a lot of young people, | 0:03:17 | 0:03:20 | |
Sarah and her sister were looking forward | 0:03:20 | 0:03:22 | |
to celebrating with a big night out. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:25 | |
But for Sarah, things went terribly wrong. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:28 | |
It was like any other night. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
I met her at the nightclub. She was already drunk, | 0:03:31 | 0:03:35 | |
and one of her friends had a VIP table upstairs. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:39 | |
So there were, like, bottles of vodka on the tables. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
So I got drunk, very, very quickly. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:45 | |
We all got, kind of, separated throughout the night - | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
all of my friends, her flatmates, my sister. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:55 | |
Looking for her sister in the nightclub, | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
Sarah bumped into a guy who was a casual acquaintance | 0:03:59 | 0:04:02 | |
and she asked if he could help her. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:04 | |
He was like, "It's OK, they're at an after-party at my house." | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
-So, I didn't doubt it. I had no reason to doubt him. -You knew him? | 0:04:09 | 0:04:15 | |
I didn't know him well, but why would someone lie about that? | 0:04:15 | 0:04:18 | |
So, we left the nightclub, and went towards his flat. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:25 | |
When we got there, you know, he opened the door, | 0:04:27 | 0:04:31 | |
and it was dark inside, I was like, this is not an after-party. | 0:04:31 | 0:04:35 | |
He grabbed me by the arms | 0:04:39 | 0:04:42 | |
and forced me into what, I suppose, was the bedroom. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:46 | |
There was a dirty, kind of, mattress on the floor, | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
and he pushed me onto it. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:52 | |
He ripped my clothes off, and then raped me, twice. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:55 | |
I tried SO hard to get away. I just felt powerless. | 0:04:57 | 0:05:03 | |
He held me down, he punched me, he beat me. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:07 | |
I just screamed. I kicked him, but I wasn't strong enough. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:13 | |
He was a lot stronger than I was. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:17 | |
He left the room, told me if I leave, he'll kill me. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:27 | |
I had no idea what to do, I was lying in my own blood | 0:05:27 | 0:05:31 | |
on a mattress, thinking, "What am I going to do?" | 0:05:31 | 0:05:35 | |
When I couldn't hear anything, | 0:05:41 | 0:05:43 | |
I crept through to see where he was, | 0:05:43 | 0:05:46 | |
and I saw him sleeping on the couch. | 0:05:46 | 0:05:48 | |
That's an image that will never leave my head. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:51 | |
I'm not sure why, I just see him sleeping on the couch. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:54 | |
Sarah ran out of the flat, wearing just a bloody dressing gown, | 0:05:58 | 0:06:02 | |
looking for someone to help her. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:05 | |
I ran past a bed and breakfast, | 0:06:05 | 0:06:07 | |
there were two men standing outside, smoking cigarettes, | 0:06:07 | 0:06:11 | |
and I walked up to them, hysterical, "Help me, I've been raped." | 0:06:11 | 0:06:16 | |
-They just looked at me in disgust. -They didn't help you? | 0:06:16 | 0:06:21 | |
No, they went back inside. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:24 | |
Alone and exhausted, Sarah collapsed in the street. | 0:06:26 | 0:06:29 | |
Two CID officers found her and brought her into a police station. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:35 | |
All over my body, there were bruises, from his hands grabbing me. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:45 | |
I had these little bruises all over me. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
I suffered from quite severe vaginal tearing, black eye, scratches, cuts. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:55 | |
I just remember sitting in the shower, | 0:06:57 | 0:07:00 | |
just sitting there crying, watching all this blood drip off me. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:04 | |
The dirt, it just sunk in, what had happened. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:09 | |
I just wanted to wash. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
Then I realised that he was inside of me. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:15 | |
Even to this day, I will never be clean of that. Never. | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
Sarah's attacker was arrested that day. He denied raping her. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:31 | |
I don't know. I just think maybe I can move on with my life more | 0:07:31 | 0:07:35 | |
if he could just admit that he did this. | 0:07:35 | 0:07:38 | |
But he put me through all of that | 0:07:38 | 0:07:40 | |
and I can never forgive someone who did that. I can never. | 0:07:40 | 0:07:45 | |
Sarah's attacker was found guilty of her rape, | 0:07:58 | 0:08:02 | |
and sentenced to eight years in prison. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:04 | |
The fact that her rapist was tried and convicted, | 0:08:04 | 0:08:07 | |
sadly, makes her case unusual. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:09 | |
When police investigate a crime, | 0:08:11 | 0:08:14 | |
they bring their evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, | 0:08:14 | 0:08:17 | |
who ultimately decide if the case should go to court. | 0:08:17 | 0:08:20 | |
But the CPS drops more than half of the rape cases brought to them | 0:08:20 | 0:08:25 | |
by the police. | 0:08:25 | 0:08:26 | |
Just one in four rape cases originally reported | 0:08:26 | 0:08:29 | |
actually ends up in court. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:30 | |
So if you've been raped | 0:08:32 | 0:08:33 | |
and your case goes to trial, you're one of the very few lucky ones... | 0:08:33 | 0:08:37 | |
..although, it probably won't feel like it. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:41 | |
Where would a victim stand? | 0:08:44 | 0:08:45 | |
The victim would have to come all the way... | 0:08:45 | 0:08:48 | |
'Hannah Camplin is a legal expert for Rights Of Women. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:52 | |
'They support victims going through a trial.' | 0:08:52 | 0:08:54 | |
So, the victim is actually a witness? | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
Yes, the victim is the prime witness for the prosecution case, | 0:08:59 | 0:09:05 | |
so the first witness that they would call. | 0:09:05 | 0:09:07 | |
OK. Do they... They don't get a lawyer? | 0:09:07 | 0:09:09 | |
No, the victim has the Crown Prosecution Service | 0:09:09 | 0:09:14 | |
lawyer to represent them, | 0:09:14 | 0:09:16 | |
but they don't have a lawyer of their own, | 0:09:16 | 0:09:18 | |
-if you like. -I cannot imagine, like, you're standing here, | 0:09:18 | 0:09:23 | |
and you just know that your... | 0:09:23 | 0:09:25 | |
someone who attacked you is standing there. | 0:09:25 | 0:09:29 | |
That must feel horrible. Do people find it really tough? | 0:09:29 | 0:09:32 | |
I think everyone who's given evidence would say | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
that they find it... It's not a pleasant experience, at all. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:41 | |
I think that some people | 0:09:41 | 0:09:43 | |
would experience an element of satisfaction in actually | 0:09:43 | 0:09:47 | |
-telling people what happened. -OK. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
But I think it's really, really important to appreciate | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
that this can be a difficult process. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:55 | |
And the best thing to do is to get as much support and advice | 0:09:55 | 0:09:59 | |
as you can do, before you actually decide to go through this process. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:05 | |
A victim would be in here, reliving through everything again, | 0:10:11 | 0:10:14 | |
and people firing questions at you, and questioning what happened, | 0:10:14 | 0:10:19 | |
and they are doubting what you're saying. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:21 | |
It must be really difficult. | 0:10:23 | 0:10:27 | |
'Victims now have the option to testify behind a screen | 0:10:29 | 0:10:32 | |
'or via video link.' | 0:10:32 | 0:10:34 | |
Some women choose to face their attacker | 0:10:38 | 0:10:40 | |
'in court, like Sarah, | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
'although she wasn't prepared for the ordeal she then experienced.' | 0:10:43 | 0:10:46 | |
I was terrified of him. He was a monster, in my mind. | 0:10:46 | 0:10:52 | |
I just needed to face that fear. | 0:10:52 | 0:10:54 | |
I really needed to see him, | 0:10:54 | 0:10:57 | |
and realise that he wasn't this terrifying person. He was pathetic. | 0:10:57 | 0:11:03 | |
At the end of that, I felt good. | 0:11:03 | 0:11:06 | |
I felt... I felt good. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:08 | |
I felt like I had... accomplished something, | 0:11:08 | 0:11:12 | |
but things changed as soon as the defence stood up. | 0:11:12 | 0:11:18 | |
You can't prepare yourself for someone accusing you of things | 0:11:18 | 0:11:21 | |
that you haven't done, when you're not even on trial, | 0:11:21 | 0:11:24 | |
and no-one stops them. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:25 | |
No-one objected. No-one said, "This is wrong." | 0:11:25 | 0:11:30 | |
He accused me of liking it. General things like that. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:34 | |
And it was horrific. It was horrific. | 0:11:34 | 0:11:37 | |
I thought I was the victim, but at that point, I felt like a criminal. | 0:11:37 | 0:11:42 | |
I asked a senior prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service | 0:11:49 | 0:11:52 | |
if more could be done to protect victims in court. | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
We try and make sure that we do protect them. | 0:11:56 | 0:11:58 | |
We should also be looking at making sure that the counsel that prosecutes | 0:11:58 | 0:12:02 | |
the case, and our own advocates, are properly instructed, that they | 0:12:02 | 0:12:06 | |
are rape specialists, that they do jump up and object | 0:12:06 | 0:12:09 | |
if the cross-examination is inappropriate. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:13 | |
The defence has their barrister, someone fighting their corner. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:17 | |
The victim is a witness. Do you think that actually works properly? | 0:12:17 | 0:12:21 | |
I think it's the best system that we have got at the moment. | 0:12:21 | 0:12:24 | |
I think the protections that we've put in help tremendously. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
I still think there are things that we can look at improving, | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
but the way in which our system is, for any case, | 0:12:30 | 0:12:33 | |
not just for rape cases, but for any case, | 0:12:33 | 0:12:36 | |
it's an adversarial system, where the prosecution presents their case | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
and the defence challenge it. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:42 | |
For some victims, like Sarah, | 0:12:42 | 0:12:45 | |
the experience of court feels almost like being attacked all over again. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:49 | |
But despite her anger at how she was treated, | 0:12:49 | 0:12:51 | |
testifying meant that, ultimately, she saw her attacker convicted. | 0:12:51 | 0:12:56 | |
Me and my sister stayed in the witness room, | 0:12:56 | 0:12:59 | |
because neither of us could deal with it, if it was bad news. | 0:12:59 | 0:13:02 | |
Then, about 15 minutes later, my friend and my mum walked through | 0:13:02 | 0:13:08 | |
and they had big smiles on their faces, and said, | 0:13:08 | 0:13:12 | |
"Guilty." And I was actually jumping. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
If I could still remember how to do cartwheels, I would have done them. | 0:13:15 | 0:13:19 | |
They believed me, and that was what was important - | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
that people knew that I wasn't lying about this. This happened to me. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:26 | |
'I think Sarah was incredibly brave to stand up in court | 0:13:27 | 0:13:31 | |
'and testify against her rapist. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:33 | |
'But how can our justice system make it easier for more women | 0:13:33 | 0:13:37 | |
'to testify in court | 0:13:37 | 0:13:38 | |
'and make sure that more rapists are convicted?' | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
I think part of the problem is our attitude to sex. | 0:13:58 | 0:14:01 | |
# It must be ass Cos it ain't your face | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
# I need a tip drill I need a tip trill | 0:14:04 | 0:14:06 | |
# I said it must be ass Cos it ain't your face... # | 0:14:06 | 0:14:08 | |
We are bombarded with explicit sexual imagery every day... | 0:14:08 | 0:14:13 | |
..in ads, magazines, TV, phones, the web. | 0:14:15 | 0:14:20 | |
A lot of it portrays women as up for sex all the time, | 0:14:20 | 0:14:24 | |
and men as dominant and in control. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
And pornography is more accessible to young people than ever before. | 0:14:27 | 0:14:32 | |
One in four boys accesses porn at least once a week. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:36 | |
Kat Banyard, a feminist writer, thinks it's a serious problem. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:43 | |
We have boys and girls now | 0:14:43 | 0:14:45 | |
that are, for the first time in human history, are being raised | 0:14:45 | 0:14:51 | |
in, pretty much, a pornified culture. And if we look at these images, | 0:14:51 | 0:14:55 | |
if we look at these films, and so forth, | 0:14:55 | 0:14:59 | |
we see that sex is portrayed as being about power. | 0:14:59 | 0:15:03 | |
It's about, a man will take it from a woman, | 0:15:03 | 0:15:06 | |
he will do it to her, he will give it to her. | 0:15:06 | 0:15:09 | |
It's not about exchange and communication | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
and mutual respect. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
We still have some pretty old-school ideas, | 0:15:18 | 0:15:22 | |
that if women behave in a certain way, then they're sluts. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:25 | |
If some men get the wrong idea, then what do they expect? | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
A major study showed that we have deep-seated stereotypes | 0:15:28 | 0:15:33 | |
about rape in our society. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:34 | |
34% of people thought that a woman was fully, or partially, responsible | 0:15:34 | 0:15:39 | |
for being raped if she was flirting. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:42 | |
30% thought a woman was responsible if she was drunk. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:46 | |
26% thought a woman was responsible | 0:15:46 | 0:15:50 | |
if she was wearing sexy or revealing clothing. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:53 | |
It all basically adds up to the idea that, if you get raped, | 0:15:54 | 0:15:57 | |
it's somehow your fault. | 0:15:57 | 0:15:59 | |
Do you know what really gets me? | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
It's that people can still think this way. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:06 | |
We all go out with our mates, you get dolled up. | 0:16:06 | 0:16:09 | |
But I just don't understand how people can still think | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
you are, somehow, asking for it, | 0:16:12 | 0:16:13 | |
as though rape just is out there, waiting for you. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:17 | |
That seems like putting blame on the victim, | 0:16:17 | 0:16:19 | |
instead of on the perpetrator - the rapist. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:22 | |
To me, that's just not right. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:25 | |
Most rapes are perpetrated by a small minority of men, | 0:16:25 | 0:16:29 | |
yet I almost never hear | 0:16:29 | 0:16:30 | |
anyone asking men what they think about rape. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:33 | |
So I'm meeting up with a group of young men from a community project | 0:16:33 | 0:16:37 | |
in London who are willing to talk to me about it. | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
'I want to know what they think of the idea | 0:16:41 | 0:16:44 | |
'that women could bring rape upon themselves.' | 0:16:44 | 0:16:47 | |
I don't think anyone could ask for that, | 0:16:47 | 0:16:49 | |
but they could put themselves in a situation | 0:16:49 | 0:16:52 | |
where it's likely to happen. | 0:16:52 | 0:16:54 | |
You know, say a girl is dressed in a certain way. You're in a club, | 0:16:54 | 0:16:58 | |
a girl is coming towards you and, you know, | 0:16:58 | 0:17:01 | |
you are acting friendly and you're buying drinks | 0:17:01 | 0:17:03 | |
and everything seems OK, | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
and then it gets to a point where a guy could be | 0:17:05 | 0:17:08 | |
taking that a certain way, thinking, "All systems go." | 0:17:08 | 0:17:12 | |
-So she's leading someone on? -Leading someone on, basically. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:15 | |
Because someone is leading someone on, | 0:17:15 | 0:17:17 | |
-do you think that that could end in rape? -It could end, | 0:17:17 | 0:17:20 | |
but whether it warrants to end in rape, | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
I don't think it should. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:24 | |
But some girls do seem like they want to have sex, | 0:17:24 | 0:17:26 | |
because of the way they dress and act around boys. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:29 | |
But they dress like that because they are going out nightclubbing. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:33 | |
Just because someone is wearing a short skirt | 0:17:33 | 0:17:35 | |
doesn't mean they want action. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:37 | |
It is the whole thing of how you perceive that person, | 0:17:37 | 0:17:40 | |
cos sometimes a woman just wants to look good. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:43 | |
-Some men don't have an understanding of the situation. -At all. -At all. | 0:17:43 | 0:17:47 | |
Because women will never tell you, "I like you. Let's go upstairs!" | 0:17:47 | 0:17:52 | |
-LAUGHTER -It don't work like that. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:55 | |
We're not lucky beans, like that. You know what I'm saying? | 0:17:55 | 0:18:00 | |
Where J-Lo will come on to us, "No talk, let's go!" | 0:18:00 | 0:18:05 | |
We have to work. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:06 | |
We have to read the signs, we have to work it out. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:09 | |
Obviously, sometimes, guys, I think they jump the gun at times. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:14 | |
The thing is, it's that kind of attitude and mentality | 0:18:14 | 0:18:17 | |
which leads to things happening, | 0:18:17 | 0:18:19 | |
where a girl's put in a situation which has led to rape. | 0:18:19 | 0:18:23 | |
What can we do about those attitudes? | 0:18:23 | 0:18:25 | |
How can we stop that from happening? | 0:18:25 | 0:18:27 | |
You can educate people into making the right decisions, | 0:18:27 | 0:18:30 | |
which is all about teaching young girls and guys | 0:18:30 | 0:18:32 | |
about the signs girls MAY give off, | 0:18:32 | 0:18:35 | |
which may not necessarily mean, "I want this." | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
Sometimes, as people, | 0:18:38 | 0:18:40 | |
we need to understand the damage of the things we cause, | 0:18:40 | 0:18:43 | |
because by this action, you're damaging a life. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
Maybe we need to learn that, as people, to understand | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
that we can't do this to people, cos it's more than just one night. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:53 | |
It is for the rest of their life. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:55 | |
The guys think there are some grey areas around boundaries | 0:18:56 | 0:18:59 | |
and signals that need to be worked out. | 0:18:59 | 0:19:01 | |
But does that mean there is genuine confusion among young people | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
about what is and is not OK? | 0:19:05 | 0:19:07 | |
-Hello. -Hi. -Hiya. -Pips. Nice to meet you. -Come through. -Thank you. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:15 | |
'I'm meeting Mercy, a young person's adviser | 0:19:15 | 0:19:18 | |
'at The Havens sexual assault referral centre in East London. | 0:19:18 | 0:19:22 | |
'She helps hundreds of young people who've been raped | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
'or sexually assaulted every year.' | 0:19:25 | 0:19:28 | |
A lot of young people don't think that oral sex is sex. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:34 | |
A lot of girls look at me as if to say, | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
"Wow, I didn't know that was actually an offence. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
-"I didn't even know oral sex was sex." -Hmm. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:43 | |
A lot of young people don't think that is a crime or sexual assault. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:46 | |
There are people out there that are doing this | 0:19:46 | 0:19:51 | |
and don't even realise that they are committing a crime. | 0:19:51 | 0:19:54 | |
And there are victims out there that don't even know they are a victim. | 0:19:54 | 0:19:58 | |
When discussing consent, who is responsible, the boy or the girl? | 0:19:58 | 0:20:03 | |
I think the boy needs to be asking the girl, "Do you want to have sex?" | 0:20:03 | 0:20:08 | |
But, again, if she's under the influence of alcohol or drugs, | 0:20:08 | 0:20:11 | |
her yes can mean no, and her no can mean yes. | 0:20:11 | 0:20:14 | |
You are not in a position to make that choice for her | 0:20:14 | 0:20:19 | |
and go ahead and have full sex with her. You're not in that position. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
Don't have sex with somebody intoxicated with alcohol or under the influence of drugs. | 0:20:22 | 0:20:26 | |
The Havens carried out research about young people | 0:20:26 | 0:20:29 | |
and attitudes towards consent, called Where's Your Line? | 0:20:29 | 0:20:32 | |
and made a film to go with their findings. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
Their results were worrying. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
One in ten young men would expect | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
someone to have sex with them after kissing. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:43 | |
Almost one in ten young women have said no to sex, but been ignored. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:51 | |
More than half of the young adults surveyed say | 0:20:51 | 0:20:55 | |
they would not be put off sex if their partner was crying. | 0:20:55 | 0:20:58 | |
It's unbelievable. | 0:20:58 | 0:20:59 | |
The survey results make me feel like we've got a serious problem, | 0:21:03 | 0:21:08 | |
and the fact that young people think it's normal | 0:21:08 | 0:21:11 | |
to...possibly have sex with someone when they are asleep, | 0:21:11 | 0:21:18 | |
that they think it is normal for a girl to cry during sex. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
They're really shocking statistics. They're really shocking attitudes, | 0:21:20 | 0:21:25 | |
and I think that we need to do everything that we possibly can | 0:21:25 | 0:21:28 | |
in order to fight those attitudes. | 0:21:28 | 0:21:31 | |
So what can be done to help change attitudes to consent | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
and understand what is and is not OK when it comes to sex? | 0:21:38 | 0:21:42 | |
One of the biggest stereotypes | 0:22:02 | 0:22:04 | |
about rape is that a rapist will be some stranger in a dark alley. | 0:22:04 | 0:22:08 | |
But, in fact, most women know their attackers. | 0:22:08 | 0:22:12 | |
Things can get even more difficult | 0:22:17 | 0:22:20 | |
when an attacker is not just someone you know, | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
but someone you're in a relationship with. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
Today I'm meeting Laura. Several years ago, | 0:22:29 | 0:22:33 | |
her then-boyfriend agreed to take their relationship slowly, | 0:22:33 | 0:22:36 | |
and wait until she was ready for them to sleep together. | 0:22:36 | 0:22:39 | |
One particular night, he decided that he wanted what he wanted, | 0:22:43 | 0:22:47 | |
and there was no... I didn't really have any say in it. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:51 | |
Laura is not her real name. | 0:22:51 | 0:22:52 | |
She's asked us to protect her identity, | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
because she's never talked publicly about what happened to her. | 0:22:54 | 0:22:58 | |
I was watching a film or something, cos I was at his place. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:06 | |
And I had fallen asleep. I remember waking up, with him | 0:23:07 | 0:23:13 | |
on top of me. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:14 | |
And...he raped me. I couldn't believe he had done that. | 0:23:14 | 0:23:20 | |
I can't believe that it was someone that you knew, | 0:23:20 | 0:23:25 | |
it's your partner. It's absolutely shocking. | 0:23:25 | 0:23:29 | |
You can't believe it's happening. | 0:23:33 | 0:23:35 | |
It feels like it's happening to someone else. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:39 | |
I remember, after it happened, I left, I went home, | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
I'm thinking, "That didn't happen. That didn't happen." | 0:23:42 | 0:23:46 | |
In the morning, he called me. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:49 | |
-He called you? -He called me. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:52 | |
PHONE RINGS | 0:23:52 | 0:23:54 | |
He said, "Are you OK?" | 0:23:57 | 0:23:59 | |
I said, "No, I'm not. Don't call me." | 0:23:59 | 0:24:02 | |
He was like, "I'm so sorry." I said, "Just leave me alone." | 0:24:02 | 0:24:06 | |
I kind of put it away. I put it in a box. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:15 | |
But it's not something you can bury, because it changes who you are. | 0:24:15 | 0:24:19 | |
It changes you as a person. | 0:24:19 | 0:24:22 | |
Laura chose not to report the rape | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
and tried to cope with the trauma alone. | 0:24:25 | 0:24:28 | |
-Did you tell any family members? -No. No, I don't... | 0:24:30 | 0:24:34 | |
This is one of the reasons why I wanted to do this today. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:41 | |
People's views on things, | 0:24:41 | 0:24:43 | |
that's what stopped me from telling my family | 0:24:43 | 0:24:46 | |
and going to the police. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:49 | |
People have such defined views on what happens to someone | 0:24:49 | 0:24:52 | |
that is sexually assaulted. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:53 | |
I was staying at his house, and people will have views, | 0:24:53 | 0:24:57 | |
"If you was there, what did you expect?" | 0:24:57 | 0:25:00 | |
If it's a stranger, then it's more acceptable. | 0:25:00 | 0:25:03 | |
And just having that, there is no way I could go. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
No way. No way. | 0:25:07 | 0:25:09 | |
Cases like Laura's are not rare. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
According to the Rape Crisis Organisation, | 0:25:13 | 0:25:15 | |
more than one in five rapes are perpetrated | 0:25:15 | 0:25:18 | |
by a victim's boyfriend or husband. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:20 | |
A year after her attack, Laura finally got counselling. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:25 | |
It's not an instant thing, | 0:25:27 | 0:25:28 | |
it's not something that happens overnight, there's no magic wand. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:31 | |
But it's a lifesaver. | 0:25:31 | 0:25:34 | |
I felt really sad for her to have nowhere to go | 0:25:38 | 0:25:41 | |
because she didn't think people would believe her. | 0:25:41 | 0:25:43 | |
I can't imagine what that must have been like for her. | 0:25:43 | 0:25:46 | |
Laura's choice to not report the crime is common. | 0:25:47 | 0:25:51 | |
In fact, it is estimated that up to 95% of rapes | 0:25:51 | 0:25:54 | |
in the UK are unreported. | 0:25:54 | 0:25:56 | |
That could be hundreds of thousands of victims | 0:25:57 | 0:26:00 | |
who are too ashamed or afraid to even talk about it, | 0:26:00 | 0:26:04 | |
let alone report it to the police. | 0:26:04 | 0:26:07 | |
So why are so many victims worried about the police? | 0:26:08 | 0:26:13 | |
It seems like there has been far too many high-profile reports | 0:26:14 | 0:26:18 | |
which have criticised police behaviour, and I'm reading here | 0:26:18 | 0:26:21 | |
that the police haven't been taking victims seriously, | 0:26:21 | 0:26:25 | |
that rape hasn't been high enough as a priority, | 0:26:25 | 0:26:28 | |
rape hasn't even been a priority for the police force, | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
and that there's even a culture | 0:26:30 | 0:26:32 | |
of blaming the victim within the police force, | 0:26:32 | 0:26:35 | |
which is totally unacceptable. | 0:26:35 | 0:26:37 | |
There have been big efforts | 0:26:39 | 0:26:41 | |
to improve services in the last ten years, | 0:26:41 | 0:26:43 | |
including specially-trained officers on every force, | 0:26:43 | 0:26:46 | |
and sexual-assault referral centres across England and Wales. | 0:26:46 | 0:26:50 | |
Yet still today, | 0:26:50 | 0:26:52 | |
around half of the incidents of rape reported to police | 0:26:52 | 0:26:54 | |
don't progress any further. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:57 | |
Why do you think so many woman don't report rape? | 0:26:57 | 0:27:02 | |
Today, around half of the incidents of rape that are reported | 0:27:20 | 0:27:24 | |
to the police don't progress any further. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:27 | |
There have big efforts to improve services in the last ten years, | 0:27:27 | 0:27:30 | |
including specially-trained officers on every force | 0:27:30 | 0:27:33 | |
and sexual assault referral centres across England and Wales. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
One police force in England that has changed how it investigates rape | 0:27:43 | 0:27:46 | |
is Avon and Somerset. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:48 | |
-Good afternoon. -Hi, Pips. -DS Roger Doxsey. -Lovely to meet you. | 0:27:53 | 0:27:57 | |
-Come on through. -Thanks so much for having us. -No problem. | 0:27:57 | 0:28:01 | |
Operation Blue Stone is a dedicated unit set up in 2009. | 0:28:07 | 0:28:11 | |
It's improved conviction rates | 0:28:11 | 0:28:13 | |
and also the numbers of victims seeing cases through to court. | 0:28:13 | 0:28:16 | |
All the officers here volunteered for the unit. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:20 | |
They deal with a rape case from reporting to trial, | 0:28:20 | 0:28:24 | |
which means the victim gets to deal with the same people all the way through the process. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:29 | |
Victims often fear that people won't believe them. | 0:28:29 | 0:28:32 | |
What would you say to someone who would like to come forward? | 0:28:32 | 0:28:36 | |
We have to investigate all lines of inquiry. | 0:28:36 | 0:28:38 | |
But anyone coming in and walking through the door | 0:28:38 | 0:28:40 | |
and speaking to one of my officers will be believed. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
That's just a given. | 0:28:43 | 0:28:45 | |
Many people have a perception that there are flaws | 0:28:45 | 0:28:49 | |
in the system concerning rape cases. Do you feel that in any way? | 0:28:49 | 0:28:55 | |
I have a very personal view that sometimes the system feels | 0:28:55 | 0:28:59 | |
more biased towards the perpetrators. | 0:28:59 | 0:29:02 | |
The pressure often seems all on the victim. | 0:29:02 | 0:29:05 | |
Reporting a rape will usually involve | 0:29:09 | 0:29:11 | |
giving detailed statements about the attack, | 0:29:11 | 0:29:14 | |
answering questions and going through | 0:29:14 | 0:29:16 | |
a forensic medical examination to build up evidence. | 0:29:16 | 0:29:20 | |
It's not an easy process for any victim of a traumatic event. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:24 | |
And, unfortunately, going through that process is no guarantee that | 0:29:26 | 0:29:30 | |
your case will even get to court. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:33 | |
'Today, I'm meeting a young woman I'm going to call Natalie. | 0:29:35 | 0:29:39 | |
'We have to protect her identity for legal reasons. | 0:29:39 | 0:29:42 | |
'Natalie was subjected to an attack | 0:29:43 | 0:29:45 | |
'that is becoming more common - a gang rape.' | 0:29:45 | 0:29:49 | |
Police say sex attacks involving multiple perpetrators | 0:29:49 | 0:29:53 | |
have increased by around 20% in recent years in London alone. | 0:29:53 | 0:29:57 | |
In many cases, victims are targeted by guys they know | 0:29:59 | 0:30:02 | |
and THINK are their friends. | 0:30:02 | 0:30:03 | |
These crimes are difficult to investigate | 0:30:03 | 0:30:06 | |
because nobody wants to turn in their own crew. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:09 | |
Five years ago, when Natalie was just 16, | 0:30:11 | 0:30:14 | |
some guys from her area started hanging around with her. | 0:30:14 | 0:30:17 | |
At first they treated her really well. | 0:30:17 | 0:30:19 | |
I felt very safe around them. | 0:30:19 | 0:30:21 | |
They would always be there to protect me when I went out to parties | 0:30:21 | 0:30:24 | |
They would look after me. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:26 | |
So, yeah, to me it felt like a very good bunch of friends. | 0:30:26 | 0:30:30 | |
Natalie started dating one of them | 0:30:32 | 0:30:34 | |
and thought it was a group she could trust. | 0:30:34 | 0:30:37 | |
All except for one, the leader of the group. | 0:30:38 | 0:30:41 | |
Whatever he said would go, in their eyes. | 0:30:43 | 0:30:45 | |
Whatever he said to do, they would do it. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:48 | |
From the first time I met him, I didn't like him, | 0:30:48 | 0:30:51 | |
I didn't want to be around him. | 0:30:51 | 0:30:52 | |
One night, Natalie was invited over to her boyfriend's house to listen to music | 0:30:54 | 0:30:59 | |
and found the whole group there. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:02 | |
Including the guy she was scared of. | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
Even though I was the only girl and there were five guys there, | 0:31:08 | 0:31:11 | |
I thought these were my friends | 0:31:11 | 0:31:13 | |
and I didn't think anything would happen at all. | 0:31:13 | 0:31:15 | |
But soon the lead guy started talking about being horny | 0:31:17 | 0:31:21 | |
and making sexual comments towards her. | 0:31:21 | 0:31:24 | |
I thought, OK, I feel a bit uncomfortable now, | 0:31:24 | 0:31:27 | |
I'm the only female in the room. | 0:31:27 | 0:31:29 | |
And then he got out a box of condoms | 0:31:29 | 0:31:32 | |
and then he started throwing them at me. | 0:31:32 | 0:31:35 | |
Next minute, he started lighting matches and then throwing them at me. | 0:31:39 | 0:31:44 | |
-Lit matches? -Yes, lit matches. | 0:31:44 | 0:31:46 | |
No-one was sticking up for me or saying, "What are you doing?" | 0:31:48 | 0:31:51 | |
Everyone was sitting there, laughing. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:53 | |
The lead guy called a couple of the other boys out of the living room. | 0:31:55 | 0:31:59 | |
Then Natalie was called into a bedroom. | 0:31:59 | 0:32:01 | |
The guy I thought was scary was telling me | 0:32:06 | 0:32:08 | |
that I'm supposed to give oral sex. | 0:32:08 | 0:32:11 | |
And I was like, "What are you talking about? I don't want to do that." | 0:32:11 | 0:32:15 | |
And he said to me that if I don't it, he was going to stab me. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:19 | |
So this was when I was thinking, "Oh, my God, what do I do?" | 0:32:19 | 0:32:22 | |
My friend I was speaking to said he couldn't help me, | 0:32:22 | 0:32:25 | |
just do what he says or he will stab you. | 0:32:25 | 0:32:28 | |
Natalie's friend agreed to lie and tell the others she'd given him oral sex. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:34 | |
But then the lead guy came back into the bedroom. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:38 | |
He came and sat next to me on the bed. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:43 | |
I was sitting in the dark on the bed and then... | 0:32:43 | 0:32:46 | |
he had a knife to my throat and told me if I didn't have sex with him, | 0:32:46 | 0:32:51 | |
he was going to rape me. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:53 | |
And...I kind of thought, what am I supposed to do? | 0:32:53 | 0:32:58 | |
I don't want to say yes and have sex with a stranger I don't even like. | 0:32:58 | 0:33:03 | |
And I didn't want to say no and then get attacked. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:07 | |
But I had no choice, I had a knife to my throat. | 0:33:07 | 0:33:10 | |
So I had sex and was raped by him. | 0:33:10 | 0:33:12 | |
And then after he had raped me, | 0:33:13 | 0:33:15 | |
he told the guy I was dating to come in and rape me as well. | 0:33:15 | 0:33:19 | |
So then he raped me | 0:33:19 | 0:33:21 | |
and then after that his little brother came in as well. | 0:33:21 | 0:33:24 | |
It was like they were taking turns with me, basically, one after another. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:28 | |
I was sore, I just wanted to leave. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:30 | |
Even after I got raped by his little brother, | 0:33:30 | 0:33:33 | |
the main perpetrator came in again and basically had round two with me. | 0:33:33 | 0:33:37 | |
The boys took turns raping Natalie for hours. | 0:33:40 | 0:33:43 | |
She was only able to get away the next morning | 0:33:43 | 0:33:47 | |
when her boyfriend's parents came in. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:50 | |
Later that day, Natalie broke down and told her mum what had happened. | 0:33:52 | 0:33:56 | |
They went to the police to report the rapes. | 0:33:56 | 0:33:59 | |
Natalie then endured months of anxious waiting | 0:33:59 | 0:34:02 | |
to face her attackers in court. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:05 | |
I went to the court, they told me where I was going to sit, | 0:34:05 | 0:34:07 | |
where the perpetrator was going to sit | 0:34:07 | 0:34:10 | |
and what was going to go on that day. | 0:34:10 | 0:34:12 | |
But she never got the chance. | 0:34:12 | 0:34:14 | |
I think the next day, I got a phone call | 0:34:14 | 0:34:16 | |
saying that I'm not needed in court any more and that the case had been dropped. | 0:34:16 | 0:34:21 | |
Why did it get stopped? | 0:34:21 | 0:34:22 | |
It got dropped because they said there was a lack of evidence | 0:34:22 | 0:34:25 | |
and there wasn't a high enough percentage of chance | 0:34:25 | 0:34:29 | |
that I would win the case. | 0:34:29 | 0:34:31 | |
Natalie had to get in touch with the Crown Prosecution Service | 0:34:33 | 0:34:36 | |
to arrange a meeting to discuss the case. | 0:34:36 | 0:34:39 | |
It was horrible. They were so cold about it. | 0:34:40 | 0:34:43 | |
I was angry at this point as well | 0:34:43 | 0:34:45 | |
because I was trying to tell them how I felt. | 0:34:45 | 0:34:48 | |
Even if I didn't win the case, at least I would have had | 0:34:48 | 0:34:51 | |
a step to talk out about what happened and put my point across. | 0:34:51 | 0:34:55 | |
They were saying they can't see any point in me going | 0:34:55 | 0:34:58 | |
and putting me through the trauma to then be let down and know | 0:34:58 | 0:35:01 | |
I'm going to lose the case anyway. | 0:35:01 | 0:35:03 | |
To me, I've had no closure or justice on the case. | 0:35:03 | 0:35:06 | |
It felt like I'd been through all that trauma, | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
all them statements, all the filming and forensics for no reason. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:14 | |
Natalie is moving forward with her life, but can't escape | 0:35:16 | 0:35:20 | |
reminders that her attackers got away with what they did. | 0:35:20 | 0:35:23 | |
I've seen him quite a few times and he's living life. | 0:35:23 | 0:35:26 | |
I don't even know if he remembers me, to tell the truth, | 0:35:26 | 0:35:29 | |
and that's what hurts the most, because I will always remember him. | 0:35:29 | 0:35:32 | |
But I don't know if he'll even remember me. | 0:35:32 | 0:35:35 | |
I would like to find out what really goes on in the CPS | 0:35:39 | 0:35:42 | |
because it sounds like they're not really doing their job. | 0:35:42 | 0:35:47 | |
Or, you know, especially in Natalie's case, | 0:35:47 | 0:35:50 | |
that they've done the job badly. | 0:35:50 | 0:35:52 | |
I want some answers about what's going wrong. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:58 | |
A senior prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service has agreed to meet me. | 0:35:58 | 0:36:02 | |
Alison, why is it that more cases don't get to court? | 0:36:02 | 0:36:06 | |
There are a number of reasons. | 0:36:06 | 0:36:08 | |
We look at all the evidence and decide | 0:36:08 | 0:36:10 | |
is a conviction is more likely than not? | 0:36:10 | 0:36:12 | |
Is there a realistic prospect of conviction? | 0:36:12 | 0:36:15 | |
Very often, people think it's because we don't believe them. | 0:36:15 | 0:36:19 | |
But it's not. It's we can't demonstrate to the court | 0:36:19 | 0:36:22 | |
and the jury that there is sufficient evidence there. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:26 | |
Quite often we find victims decide they don't want to go through the process themselves. | 0:36:26 | 0:36:31 | |
OK, I met a girl who suffered a horrendous ordeal, | 0:36:31 | 0:36:34 | |
multi-perpetrator attack. | 0:36:34 | 0:36:36 | |
She reported to the police, | 0:36:36 | 0:36:38 | |
went through months of preparation for the trial | 0:36:38 | 0:36:41 | |
and then the day before she was meant to go into court, | 0:36:41 | 0:36:44 | |
her case was dropped by the CPS due to lack of evidence. | 0:36:44 | 0:36:47 | |
Why would something like this happen? | 0:36:47 | 0:36:49 | |
I obviously can't comment on that case, | 0:36:49 | 0:36:51 | |
because I don't know the particular case. | 0:36:51 | 0:36:53 | |
But certainly in any case where we're not going ahead, | 0:36:53 | 0:36:56 | |
we ought to be explaining to the victim | 0:36:56 | 0:36:59 | |
why we are not going ahead so that she understands. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:02 | |
The CPS drops more than half the rape cases brought to them by the police. | 0:37:04 | 0:37:10 | |
Just one in four rape cases originally reported actually ends up in court. | 0:37:10 | 0:37:15 | |
Natalie is angry at the CPS | 0:37:15 | 0:37:17 | |
but she still feels reporting her attack was the right thing to do. | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
Even though it was traumatising reporting it and going | 0:37:20 | 0:37:23 | |
through that system, at least I was able to come out and speak about it. | 0:37:23 | 0:37:27 | |
Because in the long run it's not good to block things up. | 0:37:27 | 0:37:30 | |
I would encourage other people because there is the chance | 0:37:30 | 0:37:32 | |
theirs could go further and they could get some justice from it. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:36 | |
Yes, it's always worth taking that chance. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:38 | |
I really admire Natalie's courage. | 0:37:38 | 0:37:41 | |
I just hope that more women feel they can go to the police | 0:37:41 | 0:37:44 | |
and report being raped, like she did. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:47 | |
How can the police encourage more women to report rape? | 0:37:47 | 0:37:50 | |
Ultimately, once a rape case comes to court, | 0:38:07 | 0:38:10 | |
the decision comes down to the ordinary people on a jury, | 0:38:10 | 0:38:13 | |
and directly reflects how our society thinks about rape. | 0:38:13 | 0:38:17 | |
Today, I'm meeting Jane, | 0:38:24 | 0:38:25 | |
a young woman raped by a man she thought she knew well. | 0:38:25 | 0:38:29 | |
She was staying over at a friend's. | 0:38:29 | 0:38:32 | |
In the middle of the night, she woke up to find her friend's boyfriend in bed with her. | 0:38:32 | 0:38:37 | |
I had fallen asleep and woke up and he was behind me, raping me. | 0:38:42 | 0:38:48 | |
I realised that it had to be him, he was the only male in the house. | 0:38:51 | 0:38:55 | |
I didn't fight and I didn't retaliate in any way | 0:38:55 | 0:38:59 | |
because I was so shocked. | 0:38:59 | 0:39:02 | |
I'd known this man for several years, I trusted him. | 0:39:02 | 0:39:06 | |
Um...I just...I just froze. | 0:39:06 | 0:39:11 | |
When he realised Jane was awake, he left the room. | 0:39:14 | 0:39:17 | |
Jane left and reported the attack to the police almost immediately. | 0:39:20 | 0:39:24 | |
But she then had to wait 16 months for the trial. | 0:39:26 | 0:39:29 | |
It was the worst time of my life. | 0:39:30 | 0:39:33 | |
I would have always said that I was quite a strong person. | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
I was very outgoing, sociable, happy person, and I lost that. | 0:39:36 | 0:39:40 | |
I lost all of that. | 0:39:40 | 0:39:43 | |
I just was somebody that I didn't even recognise any more. | 0:39:43 | 0:39:46 | |
The prosecution team didn't meet with Jane until just a week or so before the trial. | 0:39:48 | 0:39:53 | |
It was all very rushed, | 0:39:53 | 0:39:55 | |
they always stressed to expect disappointment | 0:39:55 | 0:39:59 | |
because they very often see it in rape cases where violence was not part of the act. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:04 | |
But they also on the other hand were telling me | 0:40:04 | 0:40:07 | |
this is the strongest case, your evidence points towards winning it. | 0:40:07 | 0:40:12 | |
Jane's attacker denied raping her. | 0:40:17 | 0:40:20 | |
It wasn't until he was actually on the stand that we found out | 0:40:22 | 0:40:26 | |
what his defence was. And that was basically that he couldn't remember, | 0:40:26 | 0:40:31 | |
he had no recollection. | 0:40:31 | 0:40:32 | |
-He was saying he couldn't remember? -Yes. | 0:40:32 | 0:40:34 | |
So myself and my family were sitting in court looking at each other going, "It doesn't add up." | 0:40:34 | 0:40:40 | |
You know, people have to see through this. | 0:40:40 | 0:40:43 | |
How can a jury sit and listen to "I don't remember"? | 0:40:43 | 0:40:46 | |
And so what if you don't remember? It was never consensual, | 0:40:46 | 0:40:50 | |
there was never consent there. | 0:40:50 | 0:40:53 | |
The accused was then asked if he could explain | 0:40:53 | 0:40:55 | |
the forensic evidence taken from Jane. | 0:40:55 | 0:40:58 | |
He said he accepted that something must have happened, but he has | 0:40:59 | 0:41:03 | |
no recollection of what, and that he can assume that it was consensual sex. | 0:41:03 | 0:41:09 | |
Jane was surprised to see how some members of the jury acted. | 0:41:10 | 0:41:15 | |
To be honest, a lot of them looked like they didn't want to be there | 0:41:16 | 0:41:19 | |
and they were bored. | 0:41:19 | 0:41:21 | |
When the jury were sent out to discuss their verdict | 0:41:21 | 0:41:25 | |
and come back with the result, | 0:41:25 | 0:41:27 | |
I think a lot of the lawyers expected them to come back quite quickly. | 0:41:27 | 0:41:32 | |
His own defence barrister approached my prosecution barrister | 0:41:32 | 0:41:37 | |
and his words were, "Do these people not know how to spell 'guilty' ?" | 0:41:37 | 0:41:41 | |
Because he believed that he was not walking free. | 0:41:41 | 0:41:45 | |
On the second day, without a unanimous verdict, | 0:41:47 | 0:41:50 | |
the judge asked the jury to reach a majority decision instead. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:55 | |
-And what was the majority decision? -Not guilty. | 0:41:55 | 0:41:58 | |
-I can't believe it. -Some people on the jury said he was not guilty. | 0:42:00 | 0:42:05 | |
Numb doesn't even describe it. I can't even put into words how I felt | 0:42:05 | 0:42:08 | |
when they read that verdict out. | 0:42:08 | 0:42:10 | |
There was one particular girl in the jury who instantly burst into tears | 0:42:10 | 0:42:15 | |
and actually turned to me and my family and mouthed the word "sorry". | 0:42:15 | 0:42:19 | |
Do you have any inclination as to why the jury said not guilty? | 0:42:20 | 0:42:25 | |
The judge tells them that they have to be 100% certain of the verdict. | 0:42:25 | 0:42:31 | |
Which in my eyes is just... It's bizarre, it's not right. | 0:42:31 | 0:42:36 | |
I mean, it's human nature to have doubt and have your own opinions. | 0:42:36 | 0:42:40 | |
Despite the verdict, Jane is still glad she reported the attack. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:45 | |
I felt I had done the right thing. And I didn't let him away with it. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:49 | |
I could have just gone home that night and said nothing. | 0:42:49 | 0:42:53 | |
I didn't let him ruin me. I don't know how, but, you know, I'm here. | 0:42:53 | 0:42:59 | |
I survived it, you know. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:00 | |
The senior prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service I met | 0:43:04 | 0:43:07 | |
is concerned about the decisions that some juries are reaching in rape trials. | 0:43:07 | 0:43:12 | |
What we are finding is that the largest single reason | 0:43:14 | 0:43:17 | |
for cases not succeeding is jury acquittals. | 0:43:17 | 0:43:20 | |
We know that the majority of cases we are prosecuting now, | 0:43:20 | 0:43:24 | |
it's young girls, there are drink or drugs involved. | 0:43:24 | 0:43:27 | |
They know the offender, | 0:43:27 | 0:43:29 | |
they've either been in a relationship with him or know him, | 0:43:29 | 0:43:32 | |
so it makes you wonder if that sort of case has an impact on the jury | 0:43:32 | 0:43:36 | |
and the jury perhaps have misconceptions around some | 0:43:36 | 0:43:40 | |
of the stereotypes they don't realise they're bringing into the jury room. | 0:43:40 | 0:43:45 | |
So even if a victim of rape gets past all the hurdles in our justice system | 0:43:49 | 0:43:54 | |
to have their day in court, | 0:43:54 | 0:43:55 | |
they still come up against the prejudices we hold about rape in society. | 0:43:55 | 0:44:00 | |
We seem to focus more on how the victim might have been | 0:44:02 | 0:44:06 | |
responsible instead of blaming rapists. | 0:44:06 | 0:44:09 | |
Why is it that so many people are raped, | 0:44:13 | 0:44:15 | |
but so many perpetrators are not brought to justice? | 0:44:15 | 0:44:19 | |
Because on the whole, we don't believe women. | 0:44:19 | 0:44:23 | |
We don't believe this is happening. | 0:44:23 | 0:44:26 | |
But the reality is that women are being raped on a staggering scale. | 0:44:26 | 0:44:31 | |
But our heads are stuck in the sand | 0:44:31 | 0:44:34 | |
and the criminal justice system has got its fingers in its ears, | 0:44:34 | 0:44:37 | |
it's not listening to women, it's not dealing with the reality. | 0:44:37 | 0:44:41 | |
It's seen as this natural hazard that women have to be careful of. | 0:44:41 | 0:44:45 | |
For example, when they are coming home late at night, | 0:44:45 | 0:44:47 | |
when they've been to the pub, | 0:44:47 | 0:44:49 | |
they just need to take the necessary precautions | 0:44:49 | 0:44:52 | |
and if they are responsible, it will be OK. | 0:44:52 | 0:44:55 | |
As if it's like the weather. | 0:44:55 | 0:44:57 | |
But we're talking about violent acts done for a purpose, | 0:44:57 | 0:45:02 | |
you know, people decide to rape, | 0:45:02 | 0:45:05 | |
they make a choice and they have an intent. | 0:45:05 | 0:45:08 | |
Rape is not an inevitable force of nature. | 0:45:12 | 0:45:15 | |
We can improve our systems for dealing with it, | 0:45:15 | 0:45:17 | |
but how do we stop it happening in the first place? | 0:45:17 | 0:45:20 | |
Being a victim of rape changes a life for ever, | 0:45:40 | 0:45:44 | |
but it doesn't have to mean it's ruined. | 0:45:44 | 0:45:46 | |
Today I'm meeting a young survivor who demonstrates that it's possible | 0:45:46 | 0:45:50 | |
to move on and even become stronger. | 0:45:50 | 0:45:53 | |
I've come to Scotland to visit a charity for young survivors of sexual assault. | 0:45:57 | 0:46:03 | |
Hi, Nicole. Hiya, I'm Pip. | 0:46:05 | 0:46:08 | |
'Nicole Campbell set up SAVI with her mum three years ago.' | 0:46:08 | 0:46:12 | |
I decided to launch SAVI because when I was 14 | 0:46:14 | 0:46:16 | |
I was actually raped by my friend's dad | 0:46:16 | 0:46:19 | |
and we found no help at all through the court process, | 0:46:19 | 0:46:23 | |
especially whilst I was most vulnerable. | 0:46:23 | 0:46:26 | |
And I really did need some support. | 0:46:26 | 0:46:28 | |
There was nothing there for me or my family. | 0:46:28 | 0:46:30 | |
Nicole was raped when she was staying over at her friend's house. | 0:46:33 | 0:46:36 | |
His dad gave her alcohol and insisted that she stayed the night. | 0:46:37 | 0:46:41 | |
Basically, just went to sleep and the next thing I know, | 0:46:44 | 0:46:48 | |
it was like some pressure on me and I felt a bit sore and uncomfortable | 0:46:48 | 0:46:53 | |
and I just kind of opened my eyes and his dad was, like, there. | 0:46:53 | 0:46:57 | |
He was like doing it, raping me whilst I was sleeping. | 0:46:57 | 0:47:00 | |
I was still a virgin at the time as well, | 0:47:00 | 0:47:03 | |
so that's pretty much how I lost that. | 0:47:03 | 0:47:06 | |
Nicole was afraid that no-one would believe her, | 0:47:07 | 0:47:10 | |
but her friends convinced her to tell her parents. | 0:47:10 | 0:47:13 | |
With their support, she reported the rape to the police. | 0:47:13 | 0:47:17 | |
But the attack had a terrible effect on her. | 0:47:17 | 0:47:20 | |
I was using negative coping strategies to deal with things | 0:47:20 | 0:47:24 | |
because I didn't know the proper way to deal with things. | 0:47:24 | 0:47:26 | |
I started getting bullied in school as well | 0:47:26 | 0:47:29 | |
because people said I was lying and that I wanted to sleep with him. | 0:47:29 | 0:47:32 | |
And that I was a slut and all sorts of things were coming with it. | 0:47:32 | 0:47:36 | |
That's horrible. | 0:47:36 | 0:47:37 | |
Then I started cutting myself, I carved "dirty" into the top of my leg | 0:47:37 | 0:47:41 | |
because that's how I felt. I'd actually done that into my leg. | 0:47:41 | 0:47:44 | |
Nicole testified against her attacker in court. | 0:47:47 | 0:47:50 | |
And he was convicted for her rape. | 0:47:53 | 0:47:55 | |
I want to make sure he couldn't do it anyone else. | 0:47:55 | 0:47:59 | |
That's why I wanted him put behind bars. | 0:47:59 | 0:48:01 | |
But really, the worst trauma probably starts after | 0:48:01 | 0:48:05 | |
because you have no way of dealing with things. | 0:48:05 | 0:48:08 | |
The only thing I could turn to to block out my feelings were | 0:48:08 | 0:48:12 | |
alcohol and stuff like that, just anything that was going to | 0:48:12 | 0:48:15 | |
take me away from feeling the way I did at that time. | 0:48:15 | 0:48:18 | |
I just really hated myself and didn't care about myself at all. | 0:48:18 | 0:48:22 | |
It wouldn't have made a difference to me if I was alive or not at that time. | 0:48:22 | 0:48:26 | |
So what was the turning point for you? | 0:48:26 | 0:48:30 | |
Basically, I woke up and realised I was letting him win. | 0:48:30 | 0:48:35 | |
I wasn't prepared to do that. | 0:48:35 | 0:48:37 | |
I didn't go through everything I went through to make sure | 0:48:37 | 0:48:40 | |
he got put behind bars, I didn't go through all of that... | 0:48:40 | 0:48:44 | |
for nothing. | 0:48:44 | 0:48:45 | |
Nicole sought help to get her own head straight | 0:48:49 | 0:48:52 | |
and then trained as a counsellor. | 0:48:52 | 0:48:54 | |
OK, I'll see you at four o'clock on Thursday. | 0:48:54 | 0:48:57 | |
'The feeling that I got after I'd helped one client, I mean,' | 0:48:57 | 0:49:00 | |
I was buzzing, I was so hyper after, seeing them going away happy. | 0:49:00 | 0:49:04 | |
It's a great feeling, so even that continued to help me | 0:49:04 | 0:49:08 | |
and continued to make me stronger and understand people a lot better. | 0:49:08 | 0:49:13 | |
Do you have any thoughts on why you think perpetrators may do what they do? | 0:49:13 | 0:49:19 | |
I think it's control. To then play out their sick fantasies, | 0:49:19 | 0:49:23 | |
whatever they have in their mind, their sick thoughts. | 0:49:23 | 0:49:26 | |
It's control and it makes them feel powerful, | 0:49:26 | 0:49:28 | |
being able to take what they take from this person. | 0:49:28 | 0:49:31 | |
I've kept my power, I've taken it back. | 0:49:31 | 0:49:33 | |
And I just want every other victim out there to know that they can do exactly the same. | 0:49:33 | 0:49:38 | |
No-one has the right to take that away from you, that's yours, | 0:49:38 | 0:49:41 | |
that's your power, your pride, that's everything you work on, your confidence. | 0:49:41 | 0:49:45 | |
Don't ever let anyone take that away from you, no matter what happens. | 0:49:45 | 0:49:49 | |
Don't ever, for one second, think they've won, because they've not. | 0:49:49 | 0:49:53 | |
Meeting Nicole really affected me. | 0:49:58 | 0:50:00 | |
I think taking one of the worst things that could happen to you | 0:50:00 | 0:50:03 | |
and finding a way to make it into something positive takes real courage. | 0:50:03 | 0:50:08 | |
It gave me a sense of hope for other survivors. | 0:50:08 | 0:50:10 | |
What can we do to improve support for victims of rape? | 0:50:10 | 0:50:14 | |
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd | 0:50:23 | 0:50:26 |