MACKENZIE DEARSLEY
Letter Directed To:
The Rt Hon Suella Braverman KC MP, Home Security & MP for Fareham
Government representative of Home Office’s Operation Soteria initiative.
Trigger Warning: Rape and Serious Sexual Offense, a Letter of Concern
Dear Rt Hon Suella Braverman,
My name is Mackenzie Dearsley. I am a 27-year-old Anthropologist currently studying at UCL. I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, and as of this year, I also belong to the 5 million people in England and Wales who, since the age of 16, have been the victim-survivor of rape and other serious sexual offences (RASSO)[1].
I write today to further the work of feminist scholars and advocates in pursuit of a kinder and fairer justice space for those of us who have experienced these most heinous of crimes[2]. In the wake of your Year One report on Operation Soteria[3], I strongly encourage further anthropological methods and data to be included in your next RASSO strategy. Utilising ethnography within the Police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is crucial to assess the lived realities of cases as they move through the criminal justice system (CJS). Understadning these lived realities will ensure that Operation Soteria’s recommended and much needed transformations towards prioritising suspect-driven investigations are employed at every stage. Ethnographic methods hold accountable the day-to-day assumptions that police and the CPS bring to their work, and how their operational consequences derail suspect investigations through practices of disbelief.
It is not enough to focus RASSO strategy on victim-survivor reporting and credibility. We must extend our gaze to those rapists and serious sexual offenders who continue to evade the criminal justice system, to better understand why and how false-narratives and gendered stereotypes aid their escape.
Last year, the UK reached its highest number of reported rape cases, at 70,633 in England and Wales alone[4]. With 1 in 4 women experiencing rape and serious sexual offences, compared to 1 in 20 men, the situation remains gendered, and the priority of this letter is specifically in reference to sexual violence against women and girls[5]. However, the stereotypes, ‘rape myths’, and delegitimising tactics mobilised towards females are also found in interactions between police and both male and LGBTQI+ groups[6]. Therefore, their problematisation remains relevant for the betterment of all victim-survivors.
Operation Soteria (OS) 2021 saw the Home Office launch a radical five-year plan to tackle growing attrition rates of RASSO cases through the co-production of knowledge with academic researchers and representatives from throughout the CJS. With 97% of RASSO cases being dropped before reaching the CPS, and only 1% resulting in a criminal justice outcome, your adoption of critical scholarship and investigation from feminist studies and forensic psychology is a welcome change[7]. Specialised psychological knowledge on the workings of trauma on victim-survivors has gone a long way to validating their experiences and credibility as a witness[8].
However, the One Year Review of Project Bluestone[9], OS’s first year in action, revealed that problematic and outdated actions and attitudes remain employed across the CJS towards a plethora of missed opportunities and errors and troubling re-traumatisation for victim-survivors[10]. This led to victim-survivors experiencing painful reporting regret, and widespread reluctance to reporting future RASSO crimes or recommend reporting to someone they know[11]. With only 1 in 6 women and 1 in 5 men currently reporting their RASSO experiences, this revelation is of great concern[12].
Focusing strategy on the validation of victim-survivors as witnesses to their own rape by defending their psychological state from accusations of incredibility on the grounds of trauma, though admirable and necessary, continues to focus investigation on the judgments of victim-survivors. In doing so, we resituate responsibility for the success of RASSO cases on their credibility as a ‘good witness’, as opposed to assessing the ways in which the suspects of their crimes are, or more importantly are not equally investigated. To amend this, I advocate for ethnographic methods to assess the lived realities of RASSO cases as they interact with suspects.
HMICFRS[13], under OS’s guidance, already conducted ethnographic investigation, where specialised researchers spent time with victim-survivors, as they reported their case and interacted with the CJS. The resulting qualitative data revealed that in every pathfinding force, victim-survivors experienced disproportionate and unequal investigation compared to the suspects of their case[14]. ‘Deep Dive’ ethnographic methods evidenced this unequal treatment as guided by victim-blaming attitudes and false-narratives of lying, confused, or attention-seeking women[15]. With police officers quoted as telling victim/survivors to ‘take responsibility’ for having not left the site of the attack sooner and defending the suspect as an ‘upstanding member of society’, it is crucial that we understand the ways these attitudes not only delegitimise victim-credibility, but also work to derail suspect investigations[16]. Two victim-survivors commented[17]:
“[T]hey didn’t investigate – they just asked him in for a few questions, took his word for it and closed it.”
“They never even questioned him about it … they said they were going to look at a folder full of evidence that I had, which they never did.”
These experiences are corroborated by qualitative data concerning the police investigations. Digital data and technologies were seized with differing degrees of informed consent, radically different timelines, and with a significantly heavier focus on victim-survivor’s sexual and mental health histories, as well as their social life and leisure activities, including text messages, medical checks and character assessments[18]. Victim-survivors were often called in for interviews within a few hours, compared to suspects who were often given a few days’ notice. This led to unequal collection of evidence due to the suspect’s phones being misplaced or broken during their notice time. Investigative disparities were also evidenced to run disproportionately along intersectionalities of race, class, gender, sexuality, marital status and substance and alcohol use of the victim-survivor[19]. This led to varied and inadequate support, such as guidance to ISVAs or proper safeguarding measures.
Ethnographic revelations like these are integral to illuminating the operational consequences of prioritising victim-credibility in RASSO cases. We have created a culture where those brave enough to report are now guilty of lying until proven innocent. When coupled with past investigations of the CPS quoting barristers naming rape within marriage as “really not a terrible offense”; that “you got what you deserve” for wearing a “miniskirt around your neck”[20]; as well as referring to victim-survivors as ‘sluts’, ‘tarts’ and ‘liabilities’, it’s hardly a wonder why public trust in the CJS has been so low and RASSO attrition rates so high[21].
Nonetheless, OS’s recommendation of suspect-driven investigations requires an element of suspect-driven research. No ethnographic investigations into the suspect’s experiences of the CJS were conducted, leaving a crucial element of RASSO cases in the dark.
It is vital to place the victim-survivor at the heart of our RASSO strategies, to better understand their experiences and ensure they are supported to the absolute best of our ability. But we must also remember that it is not them who have been accused of a crime. We need qualitative research into the handling of suspects by those who are meant to assess their potential offending behaviours, past and present. Are criminal justice representatives asking the right questions? Are appropriate timelines or interview methods being employed? What intersectional lines are guiding their assumptions of trustworthiness over their accuser? The fact that RASSO cases have not seen the same funding or attention as knife crime and subsequently lack the corresponding taskforce, and that Domestic Violence remains an entirely separate department, might go some way to understanding this omission. But more ethnographic evidence must be gathered to assess the ways narratives of disbelief work to derail proper suspect investigations. Knowledge disrupts assumption, and we can no longer assume that the fault of RASSO attrition lies with the credibility of the victim-survivor. Police and CPS ethnography of suspects’ interaction with the CJS will further expose the workings of rape myths and gendered narratives that uphold suspects as those worthy of believing him over us.
With the Year Two Report of OS due, I am hopeful. Research-driven operational strategies dedicated to a transformational overhaul of procedural justice are ambitious and productive. Ethnographic investigation has validated disparities and dissatisfaction of victim-survivor experiences of the Crimnal Justice System.
I encourage you to use these tools in your next RASSO strategy to shift your gaze to those accused. We grow tired of answering questions on behalf of our attackers. As to why we were there, what we were wearing, and why we remain silenced, overlooked and judged by those who are placed to defend and protect us. We must extend our critical lens of inquiry beyond victim-survivers, and ask of our criminal justice system why our attackers are believed so readily over us, and why they keep evading justice.
Sincerely,
Mackenzie Dearsley
References
Campbell, R. & Raja, S. (1999). Secondary victimisation of rape victims: Insights form mental health professionals who treat survivors of violence, Violence and Victims, 14(3):261-275.
College of Policing (2018). Responding to Trauma in Policing. Available at: https://assets.college.police.uk/s3fs-public/2021-02/responding-to-trauma-in-policing.pdf. Accssesed: 20/03/2023.
Criminal Justice Joint Inspection (2021). Fundamental culture shift required for police and prosecutors to work together for victims of rape. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/cjji/media/press-releases/2021/07/fundamental-culture-shift-required-for-police-and-prosecutors-to-work-together-for-victims-of-rape/. Accessed: 18/03/2023.
Criminal Justice Joint Inspection (2022). Criminal justice system continues to fail rape victims. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/cjji/media/press-releases/2022/02/criminal-justice-system-continues-to-fail-rape-victims/. Accessed: 18/03/2023.
Gavey, N. & Gow, V. (2001). ‘Cry Wolf’, Cried the Wolf: Constructing the Issue of False Rape Allegations in New Zealand Media Texts, Feminism & Psychology, 11(3): 341-360.
Geroge, R. & Ferguson, S. (2021). Review into the criminal justice system response to adult rape and serious sexual offenses across England and Wales: Research Report. HM Government. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/994817/rape-review-research-report.pdf. Accessed: 08/04/2023.
Gregroy, J. & Lee, S. (1999). Attrition in rape serious sexual assault cases, The British Journal of Criminology, 36(1):1-17.
HMICRFS (2021a). Evaluation of rape survivors’ experience of the Police & other Criminal Justice Agencies. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publication-html/evaluation-of-rape-survivors-experience-of-police-and-other-criminal-justice-agencies/. Accessed: 02/04/2023.
HMICRFS (2021b). A duty to protect: Police use of protective measures in cases involving violence against women and girls. Available at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publications/police-super-complaints-police-use-of-protective-measures-in-cases-of-violence-against-women-and-girls/. Accessed: 02/04/2023.
Hohl, K. & Stanko, E, A. (2022). Five Pillars: A Framework for Transforming the Police Response to Rape and Sexual Assault, International Criminology, 1(2): 222-229.
Home Office (2023). Independent report. Operation Soteria Bluestone Year One Report (accessible version). London: HM Government. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operation-soteria-year-one-report/operation-soteria-bluestone-year-one-report-accessible-version#appendix-13-published-academic-papers. Accessed: 01/04/2023.
Horvath, M, A, H. & Brown, J. (eds.) (2022). Rape: Challenging Contemporary Thinking – 10 Years on. Routledge: London.
Jackson, J., Bradford, B., Stanko, E, A., Hohl, K. (2013). Just Authority? Public Trust and Police Legitimacy. Routledge: London & New York.
Jordon, J. (2004). The Word of a Woman: Police, Rape and Belief. University Press: Victoria University of Wellington.
NPCC & CPS (2021). POLICE-CPS JOINT NATIONAL RASSO ACTION PLAN 2021. Available at: https://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/RASSO-JNAP-2021-v1-0.pdf. Accessed: 23/03/2023.
NPCC & CPS (2022). POLICE-CPS JOINT NATIONAL RAPE ACTION PLAN REFRESH 2022. Available at: https://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/NPCC-CPS-JNAP-Oct-2022.pdf. Accessed: 23/03/2023.
Office of National Statistics (2021). Sexual offences prevalence and victim characteristics, England and Wales, Year Ending March 2020. London: HM Government. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffencesprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales. Accessed: 10/04/2023.
Rape Crisis England and Wales (2023). Breaking Point: the re-traumatisation of rape and sexual abuse survivors in the Crown Court backlog.
Stanko, E, A. (1985). Intimate Intrusions: Women’s’ experiences with male violence. Routledge: London.
Stanko, E, A. (1997). Safety Talk: Conceptualising women’s risk assessment as a ‘technology of the soul’, Theoretical Criminology, 1(4): 479-499.
Stanko, E, A. (2020). Learning versus training: Thoughts about the origins of the Home Office innovation to fund project ‘Developing an evidence-based police degree holder entry programme’ 2016-2018, Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 14(1):43-51.
Temkin, J. (2000). Prosecuting and Defending Rape: Perspectives from the Bar, Journal of Law and Society, 27(2): 219-248.
[1] Office for National Statistics 2021
[2] Gregory & Lee 1996, Campbell & Raja 1999, George & Ferguson 2021, Horvath & Brown 2022, Stanko 1985, 1997, 2020, among many others.
[3] Home Office 2023, author Stanko, E, A.
[4] Office for National Statistics 2021
[5] ibid
[6] Home Office 2023
[7] Hohl & Stanko 2022
[8] College of Policing 2018, NPCC & CPS 2021, 2022 introduced recommendations for specialised training for CJS representatives to better recognise trauma and the impact it has on disorientation and tonic immobility in victim/survivors.
[9] Home Office 2023
[10] Rape Crisis England & Wales 2023
[11] ibid
[12] Office for National Statistics 2023, concerns quoted included lack of trust, unfair judgment and unequal treatment
[13] His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) 2021a
[14] Ibid, 2021b
[15] HMICFRS 2021a; prior investigations have shown these assumptions resent in the CJS for decades, Home Office 2023, Gavey and Gow 2001, Jordon 2004, Criminal Justice Joint Inspection 2021, 2022, Rape Crisis England & Wales 2023
[16] HMICFRS 2021a
[17] HMICFRS 2021a p.49
[18] HMICFRS 2021a, Home Office 2023
[19] HMICFRS 2021a, Home Office & Ministry of Justice 2021
[20] Temkin 2000, pp. 226, 230, 225
[21] Jackson et al 2013 on public-CJS trust; Office for National Statistics 2021 on RASSO attrition rates