UK police give rape victim £20,000

A rape victim who was not taken seriously and arrested after complaining to the police has received an apology and a £20,000 payout.

The unidentified female who was 17 at the time of the incident three years ago said she had tried to commit suicide when police officers threatened her with repercussions for what they thought were lies.

The rapist was convicted and imprisoned five years after the complaint was made thanks to the Human Rights Act according to the victim’s lawyer, Debaleena Dasgupta.

The incident took place in 2012 while the victim was at a house with a group of friends and was raped by one of the members. She informed the police but her mother said they "weren't very sympathetic".

The police did not carry out full tests and failed to find evidence despite the victim’s claim of forensic evidence on her clothing.

Her mother described the situation as "disgusting” and said she was “horrified”.

"A woman comes forward and tells the police authority she has been raped: You expect them to do everything they can to put the rapist away."

Evidence on her T-shirt was later used to conclude the case and charge the rapist. The victim says she had received an apology from the police force four months after the arrest. Officers involved were given warnings while others were given the option to resign or retire while the investigation was pending.

"If you're in the middle of an investigation and you've been named, they shouldn't let you resign or retire, because you are answerable to that."

She added: "I'm glad that they have admitted that they were wrong.

"But... if it can happen to my daughter, how many more can it happen to?"

The victim’s lawyer, Dasgupta said: "Without the Human Rights Act, Laura would not have been able to seek justice for the shocking way she was treated by the police."

She added: "If the police don't investigate a rape properly, you can argue that they have breached your human rights and only in those circumstances can you get justice... There is no other duty under common law in order to do that."

Chief Superintendent David Powell, of Hampshire Constabulary, described the handling of the case as "poor".

"We have already personally apologised to the victim and her mother and I repeat here now that we are sorry for how we let her down."

He added: "The initial officers involved did not treat this victim in a way that she or any other victim would deserve to be treated. We deeply regret this."

"We do believe you, we appreciate how hard it is to come forward to report these offences... we are doing everything to ensure we never have an initial response like this again."

SU/GHN

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