France
After the incident of Gisele Pelicot in France, who was raped by her ex-husband and 50 other men, rape victims in England and Wales have echoed Pelicot's message saying that "shame belongs to perpetrators, not them", in the largest-ever survey of rape and sexual assault survivors, according to the government’s key adviser on the crime.
Three-quarters of respondents to the survey of rape and sexual assault survivors said their mental health was damaged “as a direct result of what police did, or failed to do, in their case".
Moreover, only one in 10 said they would report again, the researchers stated.
However, how the criminal justice system deals with rape since 2021 shows the first "green shoots" of improving victims' experience of the criminal justice system.
Respondents after July last year were eight per cent likely to report damage to their mental health because of the police.
Meanwhile, only two in five respondents agreed that policing is doing fine.
Watch | France: Gisele Pelicot Narrates Her Harrowing Tale In Court
Only one in five said that they have been pressured by officers to withdraw the case, with black and minority ethnic survivors having worse experiences than white respondents.
In December 2023, charges for sexual offences were up by 18 per cent compared with the previous year, while adult rape charges increased by 38 per cent in the same period.
“Some victims are getting better service now, but not all,” said Katrin Hohl, the lead researcher and the government’s independent adviser on rape.
“There are green shoots but there is clearly a long way to go. This is the first clear indication that Operation Soteria is the right model to back," she added.
(With inputs from agencies)