2000

Rape: The Forgotten Issue? A European Research and Networking Project

The original idea for this project emerged from an international workshop on rape and was developed by three UK groups (CWASU, South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre and Campaign to End Rape), supported by partners from Ireland (The Network of Rape Crisis Centres, Ireland) and Finland (Rape Crisis Centre, Tukinainen). The role of CWASU in this partnership was to conduct research on the criminal justice response to rape across Europe and to provide consultancy and technical assistance on the development of a European Network of groups responding to rape. Based on this project, the research report provides an analysis of:

• the prevalence of rape and attrition rates across Europe;
• issues that arise in prosecuting rape cases;
• the extent and organisation of support services for rape survivors;
• the need for, and potential roles of a European Network on rape and sexual assault.

Main Findings:

1. Extensive evidence of the extent to which rape has become a 'forgotten issue' across Europe in terms of awareness, funding, policy reform and research.
2. The lack of basic information and research on rape across Europe, which severely limits the possibilities for the promotion and co-ordination of actions and measures aimed at provision, protection and prevention of violence against women.
3. In the context of the under-reporting of rape, in a number of European countries reporting is actually decreasing, remaining stable in others, and increasing in some.
4. In every country involved in the study serious problems in the responses to rape reported to the police persist, meaning that across the continent there is a general failure to bring rapists to justice.
5. The neglect of rape as an issue by European governments and professionals has contributed to a situation where barriers to justice have increased rather than decreased.

See Research Report: Rape: The Forgotten Issue

Authors: Liz Kelly, Linda Regan

Young people's attitudes to violence against women

Through their preventative work in schools, the youth sector and their provision of services, Dublin Women's Aid recognised the need for explorative work with young women and men. This pilot project was developed with a view to providing a supportive, empowering environment for young people to discuss and explore the area of violence within their own relationships and at home. CWASU undertook the research design, analysis and production of this report for Dublin Women's Aid, which presents the findings of this exploratory study of young people with regard to the following issues in their lives:

• personal safety and danger;
• their encounters with interpersonal violence, committed both against themselves and against others known to them;
• defining rape, sexual harassment and violence;
• safe and unsafe sex;
• the meaning of consent;
• contact with and attitudes to pornography;
• young people's support needs.

Main Findings:

1. Young people have high levels of contact with harassment, abuse and violence - many young people know of someone in their family/friendship/community group who has suffered at least one form of abuse.
2. Young people demonstrated a lack of clarity about definitions of rape, assault and harassment.
3. Young men and women demonstrated differing views about double standards, consent and how to say 'yes' and 'no' to sex.
4. Young people had high levels of exposure to pornography with almost all young men using it and a majority of young women having some contact with it.
5. Young people had difficulty disclosing their experiences of violence, harassment and abuse due to lack of appropriate support structures and services including life skills education.

Research Report: Teenage Tolerance: Exploring Young People's Experience and Responses to Violence and Abuse

Authors: Liz Kelly, Linda Regan

Evaluation of The Maze Marigold Project

This report presents the findings of an evaluation of The Maze Marigold Project, which works with girls and young women involved in prostitution in Spitalfields. The evaluation, which was undertaken as a co-operative venture between The Maze and CWASU, assesses the progress and performance of the Project against its stated values, aims and objectives, and makes recommendations for the future development of its work. Based on secondary data analysis, participant observation, and interviews with service users, project volunteers, project workers and also inter-agency partners, the report includes:

• a background to the Maze Marigold Project with regard to current policy, contexts and agendas;
• the Maze's origins and developments;
• its 'joined up' approach to working with young women in prostitution;
• the Maze's role in preventing and reducing crime;
• an examination of early intervention and primary intervention strategies;
• the role of the Maze within its community;
• an exploration of the Maze as a model of good practice;
• a consideration of areas for future development.

Main Findings:

1. The evaluation found that the Maze Marigold Project has achieved excellence in its practice, and recommends that this model of 'good practice' be replicated elsewhere.
2. The Maze is unique in its holistic, 'joined up' approach to the lives of young women involved in prostitution: it brings together service provision across a range of key interconnected issues to simultaneously tackle/respond to drugs, violence, homelessness, prostitution, care leavers, child protection and HIV/STDs.
3. A key factor in enabling the Maze to put 'joined up' thinking into practice is its highly effective inter-agency working and partnership across a wide range of relevant organisations and services.
4. The evaluation highlighted a number of successful innovations in partnership-working with local police that have resulted in significant improvements in law enforcement with regard to violence against service users.
5. The Maze's emphasis on primary prevention and early intervention was noted, including its drama-based work in schools and its focus on the youngest women on the streets.
6. The research identified consistency and reliability with regard to project staff as key in building relationships with women on the streets and bringing about long-term change.
7. A key element in the success of the Maze is that they work to create a belief in their service users that they are worth more than a life in prostitution. One important strategy in this is encouraging women to register for a University-validated qualification in community work, and supporting them with the required course work.
8. The Maze demonstrates the benefits of user participation - plans and developments are discussed with women and user feedback is fully utilised.
9. Unlike many other projects that aim to 'regulate' prostitution, reduction and prevention of prostitution lie at the heart of the Maze's philosophy, and this has enabled it to be more effective in this field than most.
10. Much of The Maze's success lies in its clear core values, which recognise women in prostitution as whole people, with potential and the right to live free from violence and abuse, and to have access to redress and support when they are victimised.
11. The Maze was found to be characterised by excellent team-working, both internally and externally.
12. The evaluation found that all Maze volunteers felt that their career opportunities had been enhanced by their work, while the Maze itself benefited greatly from their skills and resources.

See Research Report: Worth Less or Worth More? An Evaluation of the Maze Marigold Project

Authors: Val Balding, Liz Kelly, Rachel Wingfield

Forensic Nurse pilot at the St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre

The St. Mary's forensic nursing pilot was conducted as part of the Linked National Evaluation of Sexual Assault Referral Centres project (See below).

St. Mary's is one of seven Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) in England. This pilot project was the first of its kind in the U.K.

The pilot aimed to explore the potential of forensic nursing in the immediate response to reported rape and sexual assault. The project involved training a nurse, who was also a current member of the St. Mary's team, to conduct forensic examinations. The nurse was supervised and mentored by the Clinical Director of St. Mary's and always had access to experienced medical personnel. She was expected to;

• conduct examinations;
• collect and record findings;
• prepare statements for court when requested by the police/CPS and give evidence in court if necessary.

The aim of the project was to establish if the forensic nursing would be successful in;

• reducing waiting times;
• improving the service from the viewpoint of service users;
• improving consistency in recording findings i.e. consistency between forensic evidence and forensic doctors findings.

See Development and Practice Report: Forensic Nursing: an option for improving responses to reported rape and sexual assault

Authors: Liz Kelly, Jo Lovett, Linda Regan

Manual for European police forces on policing violence against women

The Council of Europe commissioned the work for The VIP Guide: Vision, Innovation and Professionalism in Policing Violence Against Women and Children.

The title of this document refers to three aspects of police work that can transform responses to violence against women: Vision, Innovation and Professionalism. The VIP Guide is an awareness-raising tool; it is designed for self-directed study and personal development by individual police officers and also has a second subsidiary role as a resource for police trainers. It is unique in the range of forms of violence it addresses, and in its focus on Europe.

The Guide:

• provides access to the Vision and understanding which has informed new police responses to violence against women;
• gives examples of Innovation within European policing;
• enables police officers using it to develop their Professionalism;
• offers trainers and managers a resource to inform their efforts to develop good practice.

It contains:

• up-to-date information on violence against women and current good practice with respect to rape and sexual assault; domestic violence; criminal harassment/stalking; sexual abuse in childhood; trafficking in women; honour killings; harmful cultural practices and sexual harassment;
• a human rights framework for understanding and responding to these crimes;
• tools to use in investigations;
• advice for police managers;
• tips for trainers.

It provides police officers with the opportunity to:

• update their knowledge;
  read and reflect on victims'/survivors' experiences, offenders' views and the perspectives of fellow officers;
  consider some of the common misunderstandings in this area and assess their own practice;
• improve professional investigation and evidence gathering techniques;
• improve relationships with victims of these crimes;
• consider ways that policy and practice in their own station/region could be developed;
• consider the opportunities and advantages of inter-agency work.

The Guide can be viewed at the Council of Europe website.

Author: Liz Kelly

Best practice Training and Materials for Working with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence and Their (ex) Partners

Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP)

In January 2000 DVIP and its European partners received Daphne funding for a project which aims to promote best practice with regard to domestic violence intervention both within the UK and across other European countries. The first stage of the project involved DVIP producing a comprehensive manual on all aspects of its work. This manual, comprising three volumes, covers the principles and understandings of their programme, procedural information, policy considerations, organisational, structural and inter-agency issues, as well as the practicalities of service delivery to men, women and children in a domestic violence intervention setting. Detailed information is provided on extensive group work programmes for abusers and their (ex)partners.

The section on Evaluation within Volume One of the Guide to Domestic Violence Intervention Work provides a guide to an integrated monitoring and evaluation component that all domestic violence intervention projects should incorporate into their work. Evaluation may involve ongoing internal self-monitoring or a more comprehensive time-limited approach to be undertaken by external evaluators. The following issues are considered:

• carrying out an evaluation of intervention programmes - the associated research issues;
• how to measure success;
• addressing risk;
• ongoing self-monitoring;
• comprehensive external evaluation;
• how to work with programmes;
• qualitative and quantitative measures;
• evaluation of training and campaigning.

Internal Report: Working Towards Safety - A Guide to Domestic Violence Intervention Work

A three volume pack which covers;

Volume One: Intervention Work
Volume Two: Women's Services
Volume Three: Perpetrator Services

PLEASE NOTE: The DVIP Working Towards Safety Manual is only available from DVIP to those undertaking their training.

Author: Liz Kelly

Understanding of Attrition, Decreasing Early Withdrawals and Developing Best Practice for Reporting Rape

This project, undertaken in conjunction with St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre, combines new crime analysis and an evaluation of the implementation of two linked interventions. The crime analysis of St Mary's database involves identifying patterns with respect to the profile of and relationship (if any) between victims and perpetrators; the context of the assault; reporting details; repeat victimisation and offending etc. The evaluation incorporates an exploration of the reasons why victims withdraw statements at an early stage, and specific evaluations of two new interventions - follow-up calls at regular intervals after attendance and presence of a support worker at police statement-taking - designed to decrease withdrawals and enhance evidence gathering.

Methodology:

A multi-methodological approach was applied, including the following:

• secondary analysis of St Mary's database;
• interviews with service users;
• questionnaires to all service users, to be completed by hand or telephone;
• case tracking to identify outcomes;
• content analysis of police statements;
• content analysis of a random sample of forensic medical files;
• interviews with key informants, including St Mary's Centre staff, forensic doctors, police officers and CPS prosecutors.

Summary of Findings:

• around one-quarter of reported case were 'no crimed'; in a proportion of detected cases no proceedings were brought.
• There was inconsistency in the police classification of case outcomes, particularly among those that were 'no crimed'. The vast majority of cases did not proceed beyond the investigative stage, and the conviction rate for all reported cases was 8%
• Three - quarters of the overall sample reported to the police. Although this was more likely among younger complainants, high reporting levels were also evident
  among those with disabilities and those involved in prostitution. Cases involving known perpetrators were least likely to be reported. The majority of reports to the
  police were made within 24 hours.
• 9% of reported cases were designated false, with a high proportion of these involving 16- to 25-year-olds. However, closer analysis of this category
  applying Home Office counting rules reduces this to 3%. Even the higher figure is considerably lower than the extent of false reporting estimated by police officers interviewed in this study.
• Evidential issues accounted for over one-third of cases lost at the investigative stage. This group includes cases where: the complainant had learning difficulties,
  mental health issues or was otherwise unable to give a clear account; DNA testing was not conducted; and an offender was identified but not traced. In a substantial number of cases in this category the decision not to proceed was linked to victim credibility. Consultation between police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) rarely led to enhanced case-building.
• Victims who declined to complete the initial investigative process and victim withdrawals accounted for over one-third of cases lost at the police stage. The
  former was more common in areas where there was no SARC, while the age group most associated with the latter was 16- to 25-year-olds. Key factors in not
  completing the initial process were being disbelieved and fear of the CJS. Police officers and SARC service user participants also suggested that fear of court was
  linked to withdrawal.
• Only a small proportion of reported cases were discontinued by the CPS, but this does not accurately reflect their involvement in decision-making, since they were consulted through advice files on many more cases at an earlier point.
• Only 14% of cases reached the trial stage, with a proportion of these not proceeding due to late withdrawal or discontinuance at court. Around half of all
  convictions were the result of guilty pleas, and where a full trial took place, an acquittal was the more likely outcome. Rates of acquittal were twice as high in
  cases involving adults as those involving under-16s.

Some conclusions:

• There is an over-estimation of the scale of false allegations by both police officers and prosecutors which feeds into a culture of scepticism, leading to poor communication and loss of confidence between complainants and the police.
• Police officers' early assessments of the difficulties of prosecution and conviction may be interpreted by complainants as discouragement to continue, and fear of
  the court process can also act as a disincentive.
• Alcohol consumption was implicated in a far larger number of cases than drugs. How this contributes to attrition deserves more detailed study.
• Data from service user questionnaires and interviews showed that there are specific elements that would improve responses to reported rape. These include:
  the availability of female practitioners; a culture of belief, support and respect; access to clear information at appropriate points in the process; being kept
  informed about case progress; and courtroom advocacy that does justice to the complainant's account
• From the perspective of complainants, the difference in perceptions between themselves and CJS personnel was too often not just a gap but a chasm. If,however, each point in the attrition process is examined in detail, whatemerges is a series of smaller gaps, each of which could be bridged by targeted interventions.

 

See Research Report: A Gap or a Chasm? Attrition in Reported Rape Cases.

Authors: Liz Kelly, Jo Lovett, Linda Regan

Evaluation of the Crime Reduction Programme Violence Against Women Rape Projects, and a Linked National Evaluation of Sexual Assault Referral Centres

Three Linked Components:

1. Evaluation of STAR (Surviving Trauma After Rape) Youth Service Intervention;
2. Evaluation of REACH (Rape, Examination, Advice, Counselling and Help) Website Intervention;
3. National Evaluation of Sexual Assault Referral Centres/Services (SARCs) including St Mary's, REACH and STAR.

Component 1 - The STAR Youth Service Intervention:

This evaluation is focused on assessing the extent to which West Yorkshire-based STAR's Youth Service Intervention, a counselling, support, information and tracking service for 13-16 year old rape survivors, fulfils its own aims within the framework of the Crime Reduction Programme. It comprises a Process Evaluation, an Outcome Evaluation and a Cost Effectiveness Analysis. A multi-methodological approach is being used, which includes the following:

• the implementation of a project database;
• case tracking;
• audit of forensic medical reports;
• questionnaires and interviews with service users, to be completed by hand or over the phone;
• questionnaires and interviews with staff, including police surgeons, volunteers and sessional counsellors;
• interviews with key informants, including police officers and CPS prosecutors;
• local statistics on reported rapes and case outcomes;
• analysis of project documentation.

Component 2 - The REACH Service Website Intervention:

This evaluation is focused on REACH, a Northumbria-based service providing forensic examinations, advice and counselling for adult rape survivors. It assesses the extent to which REACH's Website Intervention fulfils its own aims within the framework of the Crime Reduction Programme. A multi-methodological approach is being used, which includes the following:

• a review of documentation and community interviews in order to describe and analyse the project area;
• interviews with project staff, observation of the project in action and a review of documentation to order to analyse the project's implementation;
• analysis of quality/accessibility of the website, how it is marketed and its use;
• analysis of inputs and costs and outputs and benefits.

Component 3 - National Evaluation of Sexual Assault Referral Centres

This is an evaluation of the contribution of Sexual Assault Referral Centres/Services (SARCs) to responses to reported rape (reported either to the police or to SARCs only). Three long-standing SARCs - STAR, REACH and St Mary's - are the subject of this national evaluation, which can usefully build on the evaluation of their individual interventions (as detailed above). To fully assess their contribution, a comparison is being made between those reporting rape to SARCs and those reporting to the police where there is no SARC available or where the exact model of service differs. A multi-methodological approach is being adopted in order to address the following key questions:

• do St Mary's, STAR and REACH deliver a speedy and effective service to victims of rape that treats them with dignity and respect?
• is there a consistent standard of evidence gathering and forensic reports?
• is co-ordination between agencies in these areas enhanced?
• does the provision of counselling encourage take-up of follow-up support in the aftermath of sexual assault?
• do these services increase reporting and reduce attrition?
• do they cater for the needs of victims/survivors?
• how do these different models of SARCs operate?
• is there a significant difference between responses to victims/survivors in these areas compared to an area with no such service?

See Research Report: Sexual Assault Referral Centres: developing good practice and maximising potentials

See also the Home Office online research report by Skinner, T. & Taylor, H. (2004) Providing counselling, support and information to survivors of rape: an evaluation of the STAR' Young Persons' Project, available from the Home Office website.

 

 

Authors: Liz Kelly, Jo Lovett, Linda Regan

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