Police treatment of rape survivors is damaging their mental health
Police responses to rape and sexual assault cases negatively impacted the mental health of the majority of survivors, new research shows.
The second survey of victims’ experiences of reporting serious sexual violence to police in England and Wales found 73 per cent of survivors said their mental health worsened as a result of how the police handled their case.
The report outlines the findings from the survey of over 3,000 survivors collected between July 2023 and June 2024. It is part of Operation Soteria, a Home Office funded programme aimed at overhauling police responses to reports of rape and serious sexual offences.
For one in 10, the police experience was so poor that they said they would never contact them again, even if the abuse is ongoing. One in five said police actively pressured them to withdraw from the criminal justice process.
One survivor told researchers reporting their rape to the police left them even more traumatised than the sexual violence they experienced.
“Nothing could have prepared me for the trauma I have experienced as a result of making a police report. I am more traumatised by the experience of being investigated for my own rape, than I am by the rape itself […] I will never trust the police again,” they said.
Black and minority ethnic respondents reported much worse experiences with the police than white ones. As did physically disabled victims and those who were subjected to intimate partner violence.
A worrying trend of rising numbers of survivors on waiting lists for independent support due to a lack of resources was also identified. Of those who had reported by July 2023, 46 per cent were still yet to receive help.
Access to such support may have helped 39 per cent of respondents stayed engaged in the reporting process, according to the report.
However, researchers said there are “green shoots of progress emerging”, with survivors’ experiences of police investigations improved significantly since 2021 and even more so since 2023, and one in six respondents saying their personal safety and trust in the police had improved because of how the police treated their case.
Katrin Hohl, professor of criminology and criminal justice at City St George’s, University of London, and lead academic for the survey, said the findings give cause for hope, with respondents who disclosed to the police since 2021, and particularly since 2023, having on average significantly better police experiences than those who disclosed in earlier years.
Professor Hohl, who is also the independent advisor to the Government on criminal justice responses to sexual violence, also acknowledged the detrimental impact poor experiences with the police can have.
She added: “Sadly, the findings also show the profound and lasting harm poor policing causes – with respondents saying their mental health is worse if police handled their case badly and most would then not report to the police again.
“Survivor voices are critical to any attempt to reform police responses to sexual violence and must remain at the heart of policing reform.”
Chief Constable Sarah Crew, NPCC lead for adult sexual offences and joint senior responsible owner of Operation Soteria, said policing is transforming its response to rape and sexual assault offences.
Ms Crew added: “We have seen more cases being referred to prosecutors and we are seeing more suspects being charged. For example, in the year ending December 2023, charges for sexual offences were up by 18 per cent compared to the previous year, while adult rape charges increased by 38 per cent in the same period.
“However, the survey demonstrates we have much more to do. It shows that some officers are still only covering the basics. Disadvantage, discrimination, and contextual incompetence are still being felt, with only two in five respondents agreeing that policing is doing a good job and even more concerningly one in five saying they have been pressured by officers to withdraw.”
