(Picture: Getty / Metro.co.uk)
Despite 215,000 reported rapes in the UK only a tiny fraction end up with a suspect charged, the Metro can reveal.
According to Freedom of Information data given exclusively to Metro, there have been 206,927 rape reports of women aged over 16 over the past five years.
Shockingly, only 6,374 women have seen their suspected attacker charged with only 240 men saying the same – a rate of just 2.97%.
Emma Jane Taylor, a campaigner and survivor advocate for Child Sexual Abuse, was not surprised by the findings, which don’t take convictions into account.
Bravely waiving away her anonymity, she told Metro: ‘No one seems bothered by abuse, they treat victims like they have a common cold it seems, that you get over. You don’t. You have to live with trauma.’
Emma shared her own ordeal: ‘I was sexually abused as a 9-year-old girl by the restaurant owner who befriended my family on holiday.’
Emma could not understand what had happened to her at such a young age. ‘The sexual assault didn’t last very long – but it impacted my life forever.’
Her father’s decision to cut her out of his life brought back memories of that abuse.
‘I started to scrub myself clean in the bath every night before I went to bed,’ Emma recalled.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
Remembering the women killed by men in 2024
Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro’s year-long violence against women campaign
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
To cope with the pain, Emma would turn to drink, drugs, everything from cigarettes to aerosols.
Emma was terrified to go to court after being groomed and abused for 5 years by a person who befriended her and was known to her family. After talking with her parents, she decided not to pursue legal action.
The perpetrator has since died.
Another survivor, Charlotte told Metro: ‘I was in a three-year abusive relationship with a man who had significant control and power over me due to his age and position.’
She described how he ‘monitored her social life’ constantly checking who she was with and followed her to every event so he knew what she was saying and doing.
‘I had to respond on text and call within minutes, or I would be left with more than 20 missed calls.
‘He controlled what I wore and how I looked – not allowing me to go out if he wasn’t happy,’ said Charlotte.
She has lost all faith in the police and the justice system and feels that crimes are not investigated and often the victim ends up being the one accused.
She claimed police didn’t follow up with witnesses and didn’t gather all the evidence they could.
‘I did get an apology from one department of the police for their poor services, and I am still going through the complaints process with the Metropolitan Police’.
That has now been ongoing for 2 years and 7 months, Charlotte said.
In response to the comments made by Charlotte about her experience with the Met Police, a spokesperson said: ‘We have reformed our approach to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) by using innovative technologies and tactics to target predators and secure justice for victims.’
The Met Police added that to improve victims’ experiences, they are rolling out more training, and have launched a new online service, leaflets, and dedicated phoneline to increase the frequency and quality of their communications.
Charlotte explained that she had been through hell during her court hearings. ‘I tried to commit suicide twice, I was on the highest possible dose of antidepressants, I had to take time off work. I was exhausted all the time, preoccupied, I couldn’t focus, couldn’t achieve anything.’
Yet many victims don’t press charges. Of those identified as suspects, 56,625 women and 2,500 men chose not to support further action.
Charlotte understands why victims withdraw: ‘We don’t get the communication we deserve. Giving personal information, handing in phones – it’s hard.’
Following a one-year pilot scheme which started in May 2024, victims of rape and serious sexual offences can now apply for free transcripts of a judge’s sentencing remarks, which are made after a guilty verdict has been reached.
‘It’s a step in the right direction that will help so many victims. We want to urge the government to extend the rights to supply judges summing up to include victims with a not guilty verdict too,’ Charlotte demanded.
Chief Constable Sarah Crew, national policing lead for rape and adult sexual offences, reported that, ‘All 43 police forces in England and Wales have signed up to Operation Soteria, a transformational approach to rape and sexual offences investigation.’
Operation Soteria has seen policing open its doors to scrutiny from independent academics to look at the way police investigate rape.
Chf Con Crew added: ‘We are facing this directly, transparently and uncompromisingly. This process is not easy, but it is vital.’
She explained that there is still much work to be done and they are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and the wider criminal justice system to ensure that every agency tackles this horrific crime.
The CEO, Ciara Bergman, of Rape Crisis England & Wales (RCEW) said: ‘All survivors – no matter their background or circumstance – should be able to access specialist support which should be provided to them free of charge, for as long as they need it, by specialists in sexual violence, and in their local community.’
A Home Office spokesperson told Metro: ‘We are ensuring that victims of sexual violence are listened to, supported and protected when they come forward to police, placing dedicated specialist rape and sexual offences teams in every force, to drive the right and most effective response to these appalling crimes.’
To better support victims, the government said they were making systematic changes.
This includes Piloting the use of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to provide better protection for victims of domestic abuse and more robust punishment for perpetrators and increasing the powers of the Victims Commissioner to reinforce their role as a powerful champion for victims, ensuring their rights are upheld and their voices are heard.
Samaritans are here to listen, day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org for more information.