TW: Survey finds police investigations into rape and sexual assault are improving, but survivors say there is still much work to do

Survivors’ experiences of police investigations into rape and sexual assault in England and Wales are improving, according to a report released today.

Despite green shoots of progress emerging, the results are sobering and highlight the link between police responses and survivors’ wellbeing. For some, the experience is so poor that they say they would never contact the police again, even if the sexual violence or domestic abuse are ongoing. These survivors experience a subjective loss of access to police safeguarding and to criminal justice.

The survey also revealed the crucial role of independent support workers in survivors’ wellbeing. However, in a worrying trend, the number of survivors stuck on waiting lists waiting for support is rising.

The report outlines findings from a survey of over 3,000 survivors collected between July 2023 and June 2024. The survey was a continuiation of an initial survey conducted as part of Operation Soteria, a Home Office funded programme aimed at overhauling police responses to reports of rape and serious sexual offences.

The lead academic for the survey was Katrin Hohl OBE, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at City St George’s, University of London, who is also the Independent Advisor to the Government on criminal justice responses to sexual violence.

Key findings

• Sobering results: too many survivors perceive a total loss of access to safeguarding and criminal justice due to preventable poor experiences with the police
• Green shoots of progress: survivors’ experiences of police investigations improved significantly since 2021 and even more so since 2023, showing change is possible
• Police investigations have a profound, life-changing impact on survivors (both positive and negative), so it is important they are done well
• Access to independent victim support significantly improves survivors’ experiences but more survivors are on waiting lists
• Survivors report that being heard and preventing perpetrators from reoffending was more important to them than criminal convictions
• Survivors who are Black or Minority Ethnic, have a physical disability, or experienced intimate partner violence report much worse experiences with the police.

Police responses have a significant impact on survivors’ wellbeing, access to safeguarding and access to justice

The survey found 73% of survivors said their mental health worsened as a result of the police response (or lack of response) to their case.

Conversely, the police response could be life-changing in a positive way, with one in six respondents saying their personal safety and trust in the police had improved because of how the police treated their case.

Survivors are not asking for the impossible: of those who withdrew from the investigation, 47% said more kindness and understanding from officers could have prevented their withdrawal, and 39% said access to independent victim support may have helped them stay engaged in the process.

This means a large number of survivors are losing access to police safeguarding and criminal justice because of a preventable poor police experience.

Operation Soteria’s National Operating Model (NOM) delineates the following recommendations:

• Referring survivors to independent victim support
• Informing survivors of their rights
• Protecting survivors from the suspect
• Looking at all evidence.

When none of the above steps were taken, only 17% of survivors reported being willing to report a sexual offence to the police again in future. When all these steps were taken, 90% of survivors said they would report again.

Change is possible: green shoots emerge

On average, survivors reported significantly better experiences with police investigations when their report took place during or after 2021. Satisfaction levels were even higher among survivors who made disclosures during or after 2023.

Improvements included survivors reporting:

• Being less likely to be asked intrusive and unnecessarily intimate information, which focuses on their credibility as victims rather than the actions of the perpetrator
• More empathy and better communication from officers
• Feeling like they had some agency over what was happening in their case
• Officers taking steps to protect them from the suspect and informing them of their victim’s rights.

The report shows that cultural change within the police force is possible.

Independent victim support can improve survivor experience

Some 39% of respondents who had withdrawn said having a support worker may have enabled them to stay engaged with the investigation.

However, a worrying trend shows an increasing number of survivors were waiting to receive support due to a lack of resources.

Of survivors who had disclosed to the police by July 2023, 46% wanting support had not yet received it or were stuck on waiting lists.

Survivors seek prevention and validation

The report found that prevention and validation mattered more to survivors than a criminal conviction.

88% of survey respondents said stopping the perpetrator from reoffending was extremely important to them.

Only 56% of respondents said that the perpetrator being convicted in court was extremely important to them.

Marginalised survivors report worse experiences with the police

Survivors’ experiences with the police are significantly worse if they were Black, Minority Ethnic or had a physical disability.

Survivors of intimate partner violence consistently reported the poorest experiences with police investigations.

Professor Katrin Hohl OBE said:

I am immensely grateful for the generosity and courage of the more than 3,000 survivors who took part in this survey over the past twelve months. Many complete this survey in the hope that their voice is heard and can contribute to change.

The findings show the profound impact a police investigation has on survivors. When officers interact with survivors with procedural fairness and conduct a competent and diligent investigation, it can provide tremendous benefit to survivors - and society at large.

The findings give cause for hope. They show that respondents who disclosed to the police since 2021, and particularly since 2023, have on average significantly better police experiences than those who disclosed in earlier years.

Sadly, the findings also show the profound and lasting harm poor policing causes – with respondents saying their mental health is worse if police handled their case badly and most would then not report to the police again.

Survivor voices are critical to any attempt to reform police responses to sexual violence and must remain at the heart of policing reform.

Policing is transforming its response to rape and serious sexual offences. Nearly 3000 people completed this second survey between June 2023 and July 2024. However, we know this survey is not a random sample, people had to choose to complete it. It is key we don't generalise to all survivors and only use it to inform our future responses.

These findings suggest that good police responses are possible and that there has been an improvement in the two and half years since Operation Soteria started in 2021.

A relentless focus on perpetrators rather than the behaviour and background of victims is at the heart of the success we are beginning to see. This cultural shift in the way police forces view these investigations was recently recognised by the HMICFRS, who praised Soteria as a “game changer” for policing.

We have seen more cases being referred to prosecutors and we are seeing more suspects being charged. For example, in the year ending December 2023, charges for sexual offences were up by 18% compared to the previous year, while adult rape charges increased by 38% in the same period.

However, the survey demonstrates we have much more to do. It shows that some officers are still only covering the basics.

Disadvantage, discrimination, and contextual incompetence are still being felt, with only two in five respondents agreeing that policing is doing a good job and even more concerningly one in five saying they have been pressured by officers to withdraw.