To stop the "neutralisation" of sexual abuse court cases from becoming a Met procedure

To stop the "neutralisation" of sexual abuse court cases from becoming a Met procedure

The Issue

My name is Alice Jones and I work with some girls at my school fundraising money and teaching people about rape and sexual assault. We have found that 98% of perpetrators don't spend a day in jail or prison and that 41% of women in London aged 18-34 had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces last year. And that 40% of those raped who did not report the incident said that they did not do so because they reared reprisal by the assailant or others. 

The "neutralisation" policy summarised is that Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has suggested that the Police should change their approach to allegations of sex abuse and not automatically believe the complainant.

That is why when we discovered that this "neutralisation" of sex abuse cases was trying to become a Metropolitan Police procedure we immediately knew we had to do something to stop it. This is because if we do allow this to happen, the number of rapes will increase and the reported rapes will decrease as the perpetrators will not be spending ant time in a cell as the victims were too worried about reporting their story. 

To help prevent this "policy" from going through, we would be greatly thankful if you could spend 2 minutes of your time to sign our petition. 

 

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Alice JonesPetition Starter
Media enquiries
This petition had 7 supporters

The Issue

My name is Alice Jones and I work with some girls at my school fundraising money and teaching people about rape and sexual assault. We have found that 98% of perpetrators don't spend a day in jail or prison and that 41% of women in London aged 18-34 had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces last year. And that 40% of those raped who did not report the incident said that they did not do so because they reared reprisal by the assailant or others. 

The "neutralisation" policy summarised is that Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has suggested that the Police should change their approach to allegations of sex abuse and not automatically believe the complainant.

That is why when we discovered that this "neutralisation" of sex abuse cases was trying to become a Metropolitan Police procedure we immediately knew we had to do something to stop it. This is because if we do allow this to happen, the number of rapes will increase and the reported rapes will decrease as the perpetrators will not be spending ant time in a cell as the victims were too worried about reporting their story. 

To help prevent this "policy" from going through, we would be greatly thankful if you could spend 2 minutes of your time to sign our petition. 

 

avatar of the starter
Alice JonesPetition Starter
Media enquiries

The Decision Makers

Tulip Siddiq
Tulip Siddiq
Member of Parliament for Hampstead and Kilburn
Responded
“Dear Alice and other petition signatories, Thank you very much for drawing this important issue to my attention. As you know, sexual assault, including child sexual exploitation is a horrific crime, with a life-long impact on victims. It is clear that we are only just waking up to the scale of this problem. Historically, sexual abuse, including against children, has too often gone unnoticed and unprosecuted. It is vital that we build on the progress that has been made and avoid any retrograde steps. Many expert organisations in this area, including the College of Policing and the NSPCC have confirmed that sexual abuse claims must continue to be believed, unless there is evidence to the contrary. We must avoid any policy change that would discourage victims from coming forward. As the figures clearly show, by far the biggest challenge we presently face is the drastic under-reporting of sexual abuse cases. According to office statistics, only around 15% of those who experience sexual violence report to the police. The presumption that the victim should always be believed – far from a long-standing principle of our police and criminal justice system – is in fact a very recent occurrence. As numerous independent reports have now starkly shown, many thousands of extremely vulnerable victims have been ignored for decades. Their concerns tragically fell on deaf ears. It was only in 2014 that Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary said that “the presumption that a victim should always be believed should be institutionalised.” Reporting abuse can be extremely painful but I would strongly encourage adults and children to seek support. Children and adults concerned for children can contact the NSPCC helpline. Adults can contact the Domestic Violence Helpline or Rape Crisis. People can of course also seek help from their GP, A&E, or the police. In response to your petition, I have written a letter to Bernard Hogan-Howe reiterating your concerns. If you or any other constituents would like to get the response I received, please do feel free to email me at tulip@tulipsiddiq.com. More broadly, I am also interested in holding the Government to account on issues such as child sexual abuse and violence against women and girls, and I have tabled dozens of written parliamentary questions on this and other issues (see here: www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-qtions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons&member=4518&keywords=child%2cabuse). If you have any further suggestions for specific work I can do, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Thank you again for reaching out to me with this petition. Best wishes, Tulip Siddiq MP”

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Petition created on 9 March 2016