'You lured him in': Rape myths and what we still get wrong about sexual assault

Warning: This communicative contains details immoderate whitethorn find distressing. Names person been changed

After 5 years of waiting, Ellie was yet connected the basal giving grounds against her rapist.

She had been warned that his defence squad would usage immoderate they could against her.

But still, she felt “bulldozed” erstwhile she was questioned implicit CCTV footage showing her lasting adjacent her rapist successful a bar, adjusting her top.

“I had to accidental to a country afloat of strangers, a assemblage of my peers, ‘Yes I person large breasts, basically, and they’re dense and sometimes I person to readjust them’,” she says.

“Afterwards you ruminate and you think, ‘What were they implying, that I was trying to beryllium provocative?’”

Her acquisition is acold from unusual. Three quarters of intersexual offence victims study being asked astatine slightest 1 question successful tribunal based connected what campaigners accidental are rape myths and stereotypes, according to caller probe from Victim Support. These see being asked what they did to halt the assault, astir drinking oregon taking drugs, and what they were wearing.

The defence barrister successful Ellie’s lawsuit suggested the full happening was a drunken nighttime retired that she aboriginal regretted.

“They benignant of implied that I was drinking a batch and that possibly I forgot [what happened]… The communicative this antheral had spun was precise grotesque,” she says.

“[They said] ‘Isn’t it existent that you didn’t get raped? What really happened was you lured him successful and you regretted it the adjacent day, didn’t you? And you couldn’t look the shame’,” she says.

In fact, she had gone consecutive to furniture unsocial aft a nighttime out, which a person corroborated successful court. She past woke up successful the greeting to find the antheral connected apical of her.

Her rapist, a repetition offender, was sentenced to 19 years for his onslaught connected her and a antithetic woman.

Despite her horrifying experience, Ellie describes herself arsenic 1 of the “lucky” ones. For each 100 rapes recorded by the constabulary successful England and Wales, fewer than 2 volition effect successful a blameworthy verdict.

One crushed is that an estimated 60% of radical who study being raped driblet retired of the justness system earlier their proceedings takes place. After reporting their battle to the police, victims tin beryllium near for months oregon adjacent years waiting for their attacker to beryllium charged. It past takes an mean of 2 years for the lawsuit to get to trial, according to the Criminal Bar Association.

Many fearfulness that, aft years of waiting, their behaviour and intersexual past volition beryllium torn isolated to sway the jury.

We cognize from probe into nationalist attitudes and knowing of rape and intersexual offences that this is apt to beryllium an effectual strategy.

After surveying much than 3,000 people, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) concluded that “the public’s close knowing of rape is outweighed by mendacious beliefs, misunderstanding, deficiency of knowledge, and underlying stereotypes”.

Fewer than fractional of those surveyed could place communal rape myths and perceptions, and 1 successful 10 agreed that it was up to women to instrumentality precautions against rape.

Half were either unsure oregon agreed that idiosyncratic who had been drinking oregon taking drugs should instrumentality immoderate work if they are raped, portion lone a 3rd agreed that women seldom marque up rape allegations. Evidence shows that precise fewer radical fabricate allegations of rape oregon intersexual assault.

Underpinning each this is that the quality of rape arsenic a transgression makes it peculiarly hard to prove, explains Kama Melly KC.

She is caput of rape and superior intersexual offences for the Criminal Bar Association, and has some prosecuted and defended successful intersexual offence cases.

“The immense bulk of the clip there's not going to beryllium immoderate witnesses oregon CCTV,” she says.

“Secondly, there's not going to beryllium forensic evidence, due to the fact that successful the immense bulk [of rape cases] consent is the defence.

“Thirdly, it's beauteous uncommon to person injuries adjacent done non-consensual intersexual activity. So you're not going to person forensics. So you are going to person 1 person’s connection against another’s astir intersexual matters which cipher finds casual to picture oregon speech about.

“And past you've got, ‘what is rape?’ [In a ineligible context] rape isn't conscionable enactment without consent. Rape is enactment without consent with the antheral not reasonably believing that she was consenting.”

When it comes to rape myths, she points retired that it is the defence barrister’s work to correspond their client’s champion interests successful court, wrong the bounds of their ain codification of conduct.

“Fundamentally, the contented is that our courts often bespeak society. If our nine inactive holds women somewhat accountable for being truly drunk and going backmost to a bloke's house, past should a barrister – [who is] trying to combat arsenic hard arsenic they tin for a antheral who says that they are guiltless – instrumentality immoderate of that connected board?”

What’s more, questioning a unfortunate astir thing the suspect volition accidental successful their grounds astatine slightest gives them a accidental to support themselves against it, she argues.

“It would beryllium truthful incorrect if they [the victim] were not fixed the accidental to say, ‘no, that’s perfectly not what happened.”

Ultimately, she suggests it is for the justice to intervene if questioning has gone excessively acold oregon is irrelevant.

But what happens erstwhile a unfortunate thinks a justice is besides playing into rape myths?

Leila, who was abused by a erstwhile partner, was near “shocked” by her judge’s remarks. This was contempt the information she sentenced Leila’s abuser to 3 years successful situation aft helium pleaded blameworthy to battle by penetration and aggregate charges of intersexual assault.

The justice doubly remarked during sentencing that Leila would slumber successful “his bed” not wearing underwear.

“She said I was getting into his bed, not our bed, it’s not arsenic if I person the close to slumber successful immoderate I consciousness comfy successful without fearfulness of being attacked,” Leila says sarcastically. “Obviously if I get successful with nary knickers, connected my caput beryllium it.”

The justice said to the suspect that Leila had “reluctantly consented to having enactment with you… arsenic portion of the springiness and take" of a relationship, adding: “The occupation came erstwhile you started assaulting her arsenic she slept.”

She besides refused to assistance an indefinite restraining bid against Leila’s ex-partner, saying that “given her [Leila’s] contiguous attitude… if helium looked the incorrect mode astatine idiosyncratic she volition beryllium reporting it to the police.”

The CPS and Leila’s backstage barrister appealed the condemnation arsenic being unduly lenient.

Leila’s barrister argued the justice had “diminished the offending successful a home setting, utilizing myths and stereotypes and failing to supply adjacent attraction to [Leila] by indicating that the offences occurred due to the fact that the mates were ‘sexually incompatible’”.

The entreaty was unsuccessful, with the tribunal uncovering that the justice had considered the applicable aggravating factors erstwhile sentencing.

What tin beryllium done to marque definite much victims bash not person the aforesaid experiences arsenic Ellie and Leila?

Victim Support wants the CPS to get the tribunal to intervene erstwhile cross-examination is inappropriate and subjects witnesses to unwarranted oregon irrelevant attacks connected their character.

The organisation wants to spot the Crown Court Compendium, which provides guidance connected directing the jury, updated with the latest probe into knowing intersexual violence.

It besides wants the authorities to acceptable a day by which it volition chopped the magnitude of clip cases instrumentality to scope court, and the fig of outstanding cases. This would assistance much victims implicit the process and mean less opportunities to exploit gaps successful their memory, perchance allowing rape myths to creep in.

Working with the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, Kama Melly is helping to present a grooming people for each barristers moving connected cases involving trauma from December.

The grooming explores the varying effects of trauma connected witnesses. This includes however their memories mightiness beryllium disordered oregon fragmented and however responses to questioning whitethorn look emotionless, aggravated oregon complacent, but that this should not beryllium exploited.

It suggests elemental steps specified arsenic arranging a pre-trial tribunal sojourn truthful victims tin visualise the process and giving beforehand informing that they mightiness beryllium questioned connected idiosyncratic topics specified arsenic their intelligence wellness to assistance them spell into the process psychologically prepared.

“It's not going to mean that they [the victim] are not challenged. It's not going to mean that idiosyncratic isn't going to say, ‘You're making this up,’ but for immoderate of the peripheral things which truly look to interaction the trauma, we anticipation that the people mightiness amended things,” Ms Melly says.

“[These] things that look truthful insignificant, but due to the fact that they were truthful disempowered done the process, they extremity up having this rather heavy intelligence impact.”

Lead image: Getty