Speaking of Justice: A critical evaluation of processes that led women to speak about sexual victimisation and rape, where they directed them and how their expectations were met

There are several lenses through which research into the impact of sexual violence can occur – this PhD aims to examine how women have chosen to speak about their experiences. Reports of sexual violence to the police comprise about 10% of actual experiences of sexual offences and less than 10% of those recorded as a crime result in a criminal conviction. The ‘justice’ process appears to be failing many victims who access it, and according to data extracted from the Crime Survey of England and Wales (Ministry of Justice, Home Office & Office for National Statistics, (2013)), at least 90% of victims of sexual violence are not reporting to police – but many are disclosing elsewhere.

It has long been suggested that a criminal justice outcome was just one part of the process for victims of sexual victimisation (Kelly, 1988), and our continued obsession with attrition (which, itself is contested (Lea and Lanvers, 2003; Ministry of Justice, Home Office & Office for National Statistics, 2013)) and conviction rates are ‘arguably putting the criminal justice system at the centre, rather than the victim’ (Stern, 2010). Women want to be treated with respect and dignity throughout the ‘process’, to be listened-to, believed, kept informed – conceding that if their experience was understood and its effects acknowledged, they “can [even] cope with an acquittal” (Stern, 2010). Furthermore, Stern (2010) found that convictions of their alleged perpetrator did not ‘loom as large for many of them as … other matters of proper treatment’, which may deter women from speaking at all. There appears to be agreement in many circles that reform is necessary if women who complain of sexual offending are not to be unfairly and unnecessarily disadvantaged in the legal process (Thomas, 2008, cited in Jordan, 2011).

This PhD has two main aims:

1. To contrast women’s experiences when they decided to disclose sexual victimisation – both within the Criminal Justice system and elsewhere. The thesis seeks to build upon effective alternative measures that women have used or would like to take advantage of, based on their needs and experiences, as well as their words.
2. Based upon the findings of the project, the study aims to ‘re-vision’ what justice comprises for the multi-faceted victim of sexual assault and to envision a scenario in which all women have an opportunity to access a response that is suitable to her needs and wishes – equally managed and provided from a single point of entry.

Research Objectives

1. To examine and analyse factors involved in what contributes to the relative ‘silence’ of victims of sexual violence
2. To identify what victims are seeking when they put voice to their experiences of sexual victimisation
3. To determine what actually happened if and when they spoke
4. To develop a strategy of suitable ‘prospects’ for women who seek help, advice or ‘justice’ following sexual victimisation that is victim-focused and not solely determined by the ‘guilt’ or ‘innocence’ of the alleged perpetrator