Women of every age, ability, ethnicity and religious background can be raped. The responsibility for rape always lies with the attacker, and no woman deserves rape no matter where she was, what she was doing, what she was wearing, what she was saying, whether she was drunk or under the influence of drugs. 

Rape and sexual violence and abuse has a devastating impact on women, their families and friends and wider society. The impact is likely to affect mental, physical and sexual health. For more information about what is rape and sexual assualt, including legal defitintions, please see the Rape Crisis website.

• 1 in 4 women suffer rape or attempted rape (Rape Crisis)
• A minimum of 80,000 women annuallyy suffer rape and attempted rape yet only 1 in 8 women report rape (Walby and Allen, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking: Findings from the British Crime Survey, 2004).
• The majority of rapes – both reported and unreported – are committed by known men, and and the most common rapists are current and ex-husbands or partners (Truth About Rape)
• A pilot helpline for adults who experienced childhood abuse received over 600 calls per week, suggesting vast unmet need (EVAW CEDAW Thematic Report).
• The Home Office estimates that the total cost of sexual offences committed in England & Wales in 2003-04 was nearly £8.5 billion.    

Policy and practice in the UK

In 2007, the Home Office published a Cross Government Action Plan on Sexual Violence and Abuse and implementation guide, that aims to:          

• Maximize prevention of sexual violence and abuse
• Increase access to support and health services for victims of sexual violence and abuse
• Improve the criminal justice response to sexual violence and abuse

However there are still significant gaps. For example, according to the CEDAW Thematic Report 2008: Violence Against Women in the UK, (EVAW, 2008):    

The recently launched Scottish national sexual violence helpline is the only such measure in the UK.

The Department of Health policy on women’s mental health recognised the significance of sexual violence in childhood and adulthood for women’s mental health. However, the policy has never been implemented.

As a percentage of reports, rape convictions remain alarmingly low and are among the lowest in Europe.  Legal reform and policies have focused on small elements of the process whilst neglecting the consensus in much academic research – that investigative, procedural and legal frameworks are still implicitly based on a stranger rape model and gender discriminatory beliefs about appropriate behaviour for women and men.

Government support for statutory sector SARCs remains at the expense of community-based rape crisis and survivors’ groups. Thus groups which have existed and built expertise in this area for over 30 years have been sidelined.

There are very few current examples in Britain of community safety initiatives that specifically focus on gender inequality. Fear of sexual harassment and violence restricts women’s choice of education, political participation, entertainment and leisure activities and access to public spaces and consequently limits the extent to which women can play a part in, and benefit from, community and economic engagement in all spheres of life.

Public attitudes to rape 

The 2005 Amnesty International poll of 1,000 people found that a third of people believe a woman is partially or completely responsible for being raped if she has behaved flirtatiously. It also found over 25% believe a rape victim is at least partly to blame if she has worn revealing clothing or been drunk.

Public attitudes about rape are inevitably taken into the courtroom and as a consequence too often victims of rape do not see justice served. Those most likely to result in a conviction are classic stranger rapes - but these are the minority of rapes. 

The crisis in Rape Crisis services

Rape Crisis centres are one of the few sources of specialist support for survivors, and they provide essential services for women who have been assaulted recently or in the past. In 1984 there were 68 Rape Crisis centres – today there are just 38 affiliated centres.

Research published in March 2008 by the Women’s Resource Centre and Rape Crisis (England and Wales) found that Rape Crisis centres are facing a severe financial crisis. Nine centres have closed in the last five years; 69 per cent of centres identified that their funding is unsustainable; and 79 per cent of grants received in 2006-07 were for one year or less. For further information also see ‘The Crisis in Rape Crisis’, Women’s Resource Centre, October 2006 

An Open Letter to Gordon Brown was sent in August 2008, signed by more than 200 prominent people calling for proper resourcing for Rape Crisis (England and Wales)

Further information:

Rape Crisis Network websites - England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland   

Scottish Government Information Pack for women and men (over 16) who have been raped or sexually assaulted (April 2008)

Without Consent – HMCPSI and HMIC, 2007 : In 2002, HMIC and HMCPSI published a joint thematic inspection report on the investigation and prosecution of rape offences. The report made a total of 18 recommendations and three suggestions to improve the investigation of rape cases by the police. This review was conducted to assess progress against the recommendations and suggestions of the 2002 inspection.  

Truth About Rape - this campaign was formed to challenge myths about rape, and bring the truth and realities of rape back onto the public agenda.