Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

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Chapter Four:Women Need Justice - Women as Victims of CrimeThere is also a need for female officers to be available,particularly when this has been requested by a victim. Onevictim described how:They [the police] came to my house. Since I had beenthreatened with rape by a guy who told me he worked forthe police, I specifically requested a female officer. Theysent two huge men who then refused to show ID...I wasterrified. 123Women who do not speak English as their first languagemust be provided with the necessary interpretation supportby the police and funding must be allocated for thispurpose. The Commission was told of instances wherepolice have asked voluntary organisations to provide andfund interpreters as they do not have the funding to do so. 124The Project Sapphire units within London were commendedto the Commission on a number of occasions for theirprofessional approach to victims of sexual violence. Theseunits are based in each London borough and aim to providevictims with a specialised service from officers who areappropriately trained to deal with cases of rape and sexualassault and to provide appropriate support to victimsincluding referral to partner organisations. As one policeofficer commented, “I think that Sapphire is the best thingthat happened to the MPS in terms of professionalisinginvestigations of rape and sexual offences.” 125 However,even among specialist Sapphire units, victims also reportedsome worrying attitudes among frontline staff, indicatinga need for ongoing training and this was particularlyhighlighted by the two recent cases of sexual offenderswhere Sapphire teams failed to investigate effectively. Whathas emerged in the aftermath of these cases is that toomany staff in Sapphire are inexperienced and untrained,and that performance in rape cases has not been givenpriority. 126They were professional and calm and kept me updated atall times. They emphasised the seriousness of the crimeand the seriousness with which it was treated by police…The particular officers who helped me definitely madethings better and gave me a greatly increased level ofconfidence.Female rape victim describing the Hammersmith andFulham Sapphire team, Questionnaire Response, January2009Jacky Fleming ©Page 50
Victims reported telling their story to the police at leastthree times with some having to do so five or six times.This re-telling can have a traumatic effect and can alsoimpact on the confidence of the victim. Reforms which wereintroduced in November 2007 to allow video recordings ofstatements by rape victims to be used as their evidence-inchiefin court are welcomed by the Commission. However,it is important to ensure that victims understand what thevideo evidence will be used for and that the giving of videoevidence does not create additional trauma for the victim.One woman described how “It took me five hours to domy video interview. They interviewed the perpetrator for 36minutes.” 127 Further, the video evidence needs to be put incontext in the courtroom for the jury.I felt the police were extremely helpful and made me feelvery supported. I did have to repeat what happened tome around six times though, to various people. Also I wastold I had to give video evidence the last time which wasdamaging to the case I think. The defence barrister pointedout that I wasn’t crying and nobody explained to the jurythat I was in shock and had told them what happenedseveral times by then.Female rape victim, Questionnaire Response,January 2009It is crucial that contact is maintained with the victimthroughout the investigation and stages of the criminaljustice process. While some individuals reported a goodlevel of contact with the police others felt uninformed.Women are more likely to withdraw their complaint if theydo not feel it is being treated as a priority. “The first two orthree days the police maintained contact, then nothing/infrequent for two months until we told them that westrongly felt uninformed.” 128It is essential that this contact and information-sharingwith the victim involves providing sufficient notice if adefendant is being released on bail. Victim Support told theCommission that currently, under the Code of Practice forVictims of Crime, the police are required to inform victimswhere a defendant has been released on bail within fiveworking days or one working day if the victim is identifiedas vulnerable or intimidated. This lack of warning can resultin additional distress and increased risk, particularly in adomestic violence situation. As one female victim describedto the Commission:The police didn’t maintain contact with me. After mypartner was arrested I had no idea what was happening.I was left home alone. I finally got his solicitor to tell mehe had been bailed. In this respect I don’t think that thepolice took it seriously. 129The Commission recommends that the Code of Practice forVictims of Crime is amended to require the police to informvulnerable or intimidated victims if a defendant has beenreleased on bail or had his bail conditions altered before thedefendant leaves the premises of the court.As time went on I was less likely to report it [domesticviolence] as I knew the police would remove my partner (asI own the house) and lean on me to press charges. WhenI agreed to this course of action my partner was bailedand told not to come to the village I lived in. He ignoredthis and the next day broke into my house with a crow barwhilst I was inside the house. I phoned the police and hewas arrested again. I lived in absolute fear each day…I wasso scared of what he might be capable of, based on pastevents, that I dropped the charges…I felt very alone. It waseasier to have him back and have some control of my lifeagain.Female domestic violence victim, Questionnaire Response,January 2009The Commission heard evidence from ACPO and wereencouraged that progress has been made in some areaswith specialist investigation and co-ordination measuresbeing put in place. All forces now have a Rape Championand Domestic Violence Champion and forces areencouraged to ensure this position is held by an officer witha rank of Chief Officer or Senior Detective. These individualsare an important means of sharing best practice betweenforces and are linked up electronically. A specialist team ofexpert advisors on rape has been set up and has visitedevery police force in the country to assist in producing alocal action plan. Sexual offences training for police officershas also been introduced and specialist rape investigationofficers are now in every area together with sexual offenceofficers to provide support during the investigation.Page 51
Page 1 and 2: Engendering Justice- from Policy to
Page 3 and 4: ContentsForeword 5Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6: ForewordFor the past five years, Fa
Page 7 and 8: Executive SummarySince 2003, Fawcet
Page 10 and 11: Executive Summary continuedon domes
Page 12 and 13: Executive Summary continuedFemale O
Page 14 and 15: Chapter One: Continued.Methodology
Page 16 and 17: The Five Years of the CommissionCom
Page 18 and 19: Chapter Two:Introduction - From Pol
Page 20 and 21: Chapter Three:Women and Justice - M
Page 23 and 24: [A woman] had admitted to an offenc
Page 25 and 26: Figure 3: Female Reoffending Rate b
Page 27 and 28: writing the Government had undertak
Page 29 and 30: equirement could be used to refer w
Page 31 and 32: given current funding allocations a
Page 33 and 34: I feel that women with severe menta
Page 35 and 36: Good Practice Example: Birth Compan
Page 37 and 38: Female offenders serving indetermin
Page 39 and 40: The Commission recommends that if p
Page 41 and 42: Moving TowardsCommunity ProvisionTh
Page 43 and 44: which can be developed in conjuncti
Page 45 and 46: Chapter Four:Women Need Justice - W
Page 47 and 48: that VAW is a relevant issue for ev
Page 49: Women also need to have clear infor
Page 53 and 54: However, Rights of Women told the C
Page 55 and 56: in the decision-making process is l
Page 57 and 58: continued commitment to joint worki
Page 59 and 60: It is also important for the CPS to
Page 61 and 62: He pleaded innocent, so I prepared
Page 63 and 64: isk assessments are not uniform. In
Page 65 and 66: espect and sexual violence is a com
Page 67 and 68: different needs and experiences of
Page 69 and 70: managers. “Sometimes childcare is
Page 71 and 72: local area, with women who have rea
Page 73 and 74: her career, as these women may find
Page 75 and 76: The key issue in my view is that th
Page 77 and 78: Some magistrates noted that they fe
Page 79 and 80: for women to access development opp
Page 81 and 82: Organisations sharing their views w
Page 83 and 84: Institutional change needed:➤ A c
Page 85 and 86: International example of good pract
Page 87 and 88: ➤ The Criminal JusticeSystem will
Page 89 and 90: Key targets / indicators of success
Page 91 and 92: ➤ Women working inthe criminal ju
Page 93 and 94: Key targets / indicators of success
Page 95 and 96: ➤ Policy and practiceof all crimi
Page 97 and 98: ➤The Judiciary and thesenior leve
Page 99 and 100: Appendix ACOMMISSIONERS:Baroness Je
Page 101 and 102:
Annexure BSummary of Recommendation
Page 103 and 104:
not be means tested.• First night
Page 105 and 106:
in circumstances where the Prosecut
Page 107 and 108:
• Allocation to a particular cour
Page 109 and 110:
EndnotesMarch 200985Questionnaire R
Page 111:
About FawcettThe Fawcett Society is
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Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

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