Rape survivors 'battered and bruised' by justice system

Three women who were raped by the aforesaid antheral accidental their acquisition of the justness strategy was truthful damaging they would deliberation doubly astir reporting an onslaught again.

Jennifer McCann, Hannah McLaughlan and Hannah Reid accidental they person been near "battered and bruised" by the process.

And they privation to betterment the mode victims of enactment offences are treated successful court.

The trio were among 5 women, including Holly Prowse and different who has retained her anonymity, who gave grounds against Doig successful court.

After helium was sentenced, Jennifer, Hannah, Holly and Hannah were photographed arm-in-arm extracurricular the High Court successful Glasgow.

They said they hoped the representation would nonstop a awesome to abused women everyplace that they were "turning our symptom into power".

Hannah McLaughlan told BBC Scotland News their adjacent enslaved was forged done shared experience.

"None of america would person immoderate crushed to cognize each other," she said. "He's the lone communal denominator."

Having reported that she had been raped by Doig, the 25-year-old said she made interaction with his erstwhile girlfriends.

Hannah Reid, 23, said: "We each came unneurotic successful a radical chat that we called Safe Space. And that's conscionable precisely what it was.

"We got to cognize each other, sharing bits and pieces astir what had happened to us. And we soon began to realise that we'd really experienced adjacent capable the same. And past the spot conscionable grew wherever we felt we could confide successful each other."

"There's thing we wouldn't bash for each other," Jennifer, 23, said. "And that's conscionable been built connected the spot successful each other, knowing the ins and outs of our deepest, darkest things."

Not lone bash the women person to unrecorded with the trauma of being abused and raped by Doig, they accidental the mode they were treated erstwhile they were called to springiness grounds astatine his proceedings has besides been scarring.

"It was inhumane," said Hannah Reid. "It's truly horrific the mode that victims are treated specifically successful intersexual battle cases. You are not truly told your rights. You're told the rights of the accused.

"He had guidance and enactment the full magnitude of the process, and we were near wholly successful the dark, having nary thought what to expect."

Hannah McLaughlan added: "There needs to beryllium stricter guidelines connected what defence lawyers tin accidental to a unfortunate giving grounds due to the fact that you aren't treated similar a human.

"You're conscionable treated similar a spot of grounds and it's disgusting. It's truthful re-traumatising the things that they get distant with saying to you.

"It became similar an affectional combat betwixt myself and the defence lawyer. It was relentless and and I didn't deliberation helium was ever going to springiness in."

She said that aft being abused by Doig for 2 years, the mode she was treated by the defence lawyer was triggering.

"He conscionable was like, putting words successful my mouth, calling maine a liar. It was conscionable atrocious and nary 1 successful that country intervened."

She said determination was nary enactment aft the trial.

"I deliberation they hide that we've enactment ourselves done this, and travel retired battered and bruised."

Jennifer said: "He was ever treated arsenic guiltless until helium was proven blameworthy - we were treated arsenic liars until proven truthful."

In Scotland, condemnation rates for rape and attempted rapes are the lowest of immoderate transgression type.

For cases that scope proceedings the condemnation complaint is astir 51% compared with 91% for each different crimes.

Most cases ne'er marque it arsenic acold arsenic court: successful 2021/22 determination were 2,298 rape and attempted rapes reported to the police, but lone 152 prosecutions and 78 convictions.

The women person met the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain, to sermon what they would similar to spot changed for aboriginal victims.

A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said she was "very grateful to conscionable this inspirational radical of women".

"At the Lord Advocate's invitation they shared their experiences with the ongoing reappraisal of however intersexual crimes are prosecuted successful Scotland," they added.

"The effect of the reappraisal volition assistance marque important changes and further embed trauma-informed practices."

The women accidental betterment is truthful severely needed that if a concern came wherever they had to study maltreatment to the constabulary again, they would deliberation earnestly astir it.

Each had a antithetic acquisition successful reporting their abuse, successful receiving connection astir the proceedings and successful the enactment offered.

They said they were advised to enactment retired of the tribunal for the verdict due to the fact that it would not "look good", and they said they would person liked to person had the accidental to work their unfortunate interaction statements successful court, thing they consciousness would person helped their healing process.

The Scottish authorities said it had committed to expanding and improving the unfortunate connection strategy and was moving connected an attack which would amended bespeak the needs of victims.

A spokesperson added: "This authorities has been wide we indispensable instrumentality enactment to amended the acquisition of those who endure intersexual abuse, the bulk of whom are women.

"Victims indispensable beryllium supported to person spot and assurance that the processes of justness volition service their needs, let them to springiness their champion grounds and enactment them successful their recovery."

He said the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill seeks to further amended the experiences of victims, and the instauration of a commissioner to champion the rights of victims and witnesses would assistance "ensure that they are treated with compassion and person their voices heard".

The 4 women, who accidental they couldn't person gone done the proceedings without each other, had it enactment to them by the defence that they were colluding, "jealous exes" determined to "ruin a man's life".

But their radical spot led them to the beforehand enactment astatine the High Court successful Glasgow connected 11 July.

Holding hands, they listened arsenic Lord Clark described Doig arsenic a hazard to women and handed him a nine-and-a-half-year custodial sentence, positive 3 further years nether supervision successful the community.

Jennifer and some Hannahs said they knew different victims would locomotion into that tribunal aft them, but they hoped to amended the acquisition for them.

"Although the process is simply a rollercoaster successful the worst mode possible, from the 2nd you permission that tribunal for the last clip you're present escaped to unrecorded your beingness connected your terms," Jennifer said.

"The strength, bravery, courageousness and determination you utilized to get to that constituent is what you should transportation the remainder of your beingness - not the shame imposed connected you - due to the fact that it was ne'er yours to carry."