True extent of unreported rapes revealed

Published on Sunday 26 November 2006 00:15

AS FEW as 6% of women who seek counselling for rape will report their ordeal to the police, according to a study by Scotland's leading support group for sex assault victims.

Rape Crisis Scotland asked women if they had also made a formal complaint to police and discovered that in East Ayrshire, only 28 out of 464 clients had done so.

Figures from elsewhere in Scotland were also shockingly low, running at 15% in Dundee, 16% in Lanarkshire, 21% in Argyll and Bute and a quarter in Central Scotland.

The "best" result was in Glasgow, but even there only 40% of Rape Crisis clients contacted the police for help.

Last night, the Scottish Police Federation admitted it was disturbed by the findings and called for an urgent inquiry.

But Rape Crisis claims the police themselves are a key part of the problem, and says it has compelling anecdotal evidence that old-fashioned and insensitive attitudes to rape victims persist.

Concern has been growing about the poor conviction rate at rape trials and the ordeal victims are often put through in court. But the Rape Crisis study reveals for the first time just how few rape victims contact police in the first place.

The figures from the six Rape Crisis centres which took part in the study show that last year a total of 2,783 women sought counselling but only 857 - 31% - said they had reported the attack to police.

Rape Crisis also collected evidence of inappropriate questions asked by police of rape victims, including "Are you sure you didn't lead him on?", "You were out drinking - could you not put it down as a learning experience?", and "Why could you not fight them [two rapists] off? You're a big girl."

Frances O'Boyle, a Rape Crisis counsellor in Grampian, said: "Most of the women who come to us don't even go near the police. There used to be a specialist unit in Grampian that dealt with rapes but that only deals with child abuse now so women are being dealt with by CID officers and they get whoever happens to be around and we have had quite bad reports of how individuals deal with it."

A spokeswoman for Rape Crisis in Glasgow said: "The main issue is about women feeling they are not believed and not taken seriously by the police. We are getting anecdotal evidence of poor responses and unsympathetic and unhelpful comments being made."

She added: "We know that there are pockets of good practice. Some women say they have had a superb service from the police, but it is a lottery."

Sandy Brindley, national coordinator for Rape Crisis Scotland, said: "Rape is particularly under-reported as a crime. Many women are worried about being disbelieved and being blamed and about what will happen in court.

"There have been huge improvements in the past 15 years, however some women do still tell us they have encountered disbelieving attitudes. Officers should be specially trained if they are to be the first point of contact for a woman reporting rape or sexual assault."

Police were forced to overhaul the way they deal with victims of sex crimes after a shocking 1982 fly-on-the-wall documentary caught three Thames Valley Police officers bullying an alleged victim of gang rape. The footage led to the creation of the first female rape squad and prompted the introduction of rape suites in police stations.

Yesterday police said they would investigate the matter. Joe Grant, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "This is a very worrying trend which needs urgent examination. I think the causes of this are underlying and this subject may be worthy of an evidence-based research project. This is now within the capability of the police with the introduction last week of the Scottish Policing Research Network."

Paddy Tomkins, chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police, insisted the service was "committed to ensuring victims of rape and other serious sexual offences receive the highest levels of support and understanding from our officers - both male and female".

He added: "A rape and sexual offences working group has now been set up and is examining the full range of police procedures and response in relation to these offences."

SNP justice spokesman Kenny MacAskill said: "We have come a long way and there have been significant improvements by the police.

"However these statistics show just how long a journey we still face."