Documentary maker RebeccaCoxon - herself a survivor - spent 18 months embedded with the police to investigate. Here, she shares what she learnt
Sex that is not consensual is called rape. Yet the word ‘rape’ seems to hold an unfair stigma, for a crime that is as common as being mugged or having your bike stolen. Rape is widely considered the second most serious crime after murder, and yet it is 100 times more likely to happen to you. In England and Wales, there are 600 homicides per year, compared to more than 60,000 rapes.
Five years later, I had the chance to understand more about how reports of rapes are investigated and witness the impact it has on those who do report. I am a documentary filmmaker and in late 2020, I began making a film for BBC Panorama to investigate why rape convictions are at an all-time low in England and Wales, despite more people reporting than ever before. What I discovered was that of those people who do report to the police, just 1% get a successful conviction.
Assistant Chief Constable of Derbyshire Police, Dave Kirby told me that 'the police will put forward any case that we believe meets the evidential standard and that has a realistic chance of a prosecution'. However, he admits there are often limitations when it comes to investigating rape. I interviewed Charlotte Caulton-Scott, Head of Rape and Serious Sexual Offence for CPS East Midlands, who told me more about the CPS’s role in deciding what cases reach trial.
I realised through making the documentary that the way the police and the CPS handle rape cases is not the only thing that urgently needs our attention - funding support services is absolutely vital too. I met Fran Carr, an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor for the Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre and followed her supporting a middle-aged man called Adam during the course of the film, who had been abused by his uncle as a child.
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