Sexual Offences
Violence Against Women Initiative Rape Services Projects
Project List:
St Mary’s Crime Analysis, Crisis Workers and Follow-Up Contact
SUMMARY
This involves crime analysis of the existing database on recent rapes in the UK, research into why victims withdraw complaints, and evaluation of crisis workers and follow-up contact interventions designed to decrease withdrawals and enhance evidence gathering.
ST MARY’S CENTRE
First of its kind in the UK, opened in 1988 and remains unique in level, form and extent of service it offers. It was established to improve institutional responses to reported rape. It provides a comprehensive and co-ordinated forensic, counselling and medical aftercare service female and male adults in Greater Manchester who have experienced rape and sexual assault. It is part of St Mary's hospital complex and so can provide 24 hour cover. It employs 29 staff including female doctors on a call-out system. It is funded by the Police Authority and NHS Trust.
It has served as a prototype for centres elsewhere e.g. Reach in Northumbria and Star in West Yorkshire have been set up to provide similar services and sexual assault centres have also been established in Leicester - Juniper Lodge, and London - Caldicott Centre, with plans for one in Bristol - Milne Centre.
INTERVENTIONS
Crime Analysis
The existing extensive database will be analysed to investigate whether there are consistent or changing patterns with respect to: the profile of victims and perpetrators; their relationship between victims and offenders; the contexts in which the assault occurred; whether the victim or someone else made the decision to report; repeat victimisation and offending and how far any of the above correlate the factors such as age, employment status and ethnicity. This data will enhance our understanding or rape, and either provide support for or raise questions concerning the factors that are currently understood to play a part in the attrition process.
Research
The evaluation will explore why victims withdraw statements at an early stage.
Crisis Workers
A crisis worker will be present during all taking of police statements in the St Mary’s Centre. This is intended to address the issues of disbelief, disrespect and miscommunication, and in the process promote better evidence gathering in the form of statements created in a supportive context and environment.
Follow-up Contact
There will be pro-active follow-up contact, wherever possible by telephone, by crisis workers at one week after reporting, one month and each three month interval until the case comes to court. This is intervened to ensure that the victim feels supported in continuing with the case can access protection measures if needed and has an opportunity to discuss withdrawal before she makes the decision. Further where victims are unable to reattend the St Mary’s service to access services directly, this measure will facilitate access to community-based support services and resources.
AGENCIES INVOLVED
St Mary’s, Greater Manchester Police.
St Mary’s Forensic Nurse
SUMMARY
This project seeks to pilot a forensic nurse examiner service for adult female victims of rape and sexual assault.
INTERVENTIONS
The pilot would involve the provision of daytime forensic medical examinations by a qualified nurse, trained in the principles of forensic examination of female rape victims. The forensic nurse examiner will be trained and supervised by the Centre’s Clinical Director, Dr Raine Roberts MBE, a forensic physician with over 30 years experience in the field. The extent of the forensic nurse examiner role will be limited to the recording of forensic medical findings and to taking and preserving forensic samples. The Clinical Director will be responsible for interpretation of findings and providing an expert opinion for the Court. To aid this process we propose to provide improved forensic documentation of genital injuries by video colposcopy.
The primary benefit of the daytime availability of the forensic nurse examiner will be in terms of significantly reducing the time a victim will be required to wait for a forensic medical examination. A further benefit and service development will be the provision of follow-up examinations to document time delayed injuries (such as bruising). Although the Centre’s forensic physicians routinely arrange such examinations where necessary, their limited availability will often mean that victims are required to reattend during the evening.
The Centre is well placed to implement such an initiative since a member of the staff team, Milly Doregos, a qualified nurse and counsellor recently undertook a five-week visit to the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle (United States) to observe forensic nursing practice in the examination of rape victims. As part of the visit, Milly Doregos successfully completed the accredited Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner training programme (40 hours).
ACTIONS ALREADY TAKEN
Currently, the Centre is able to provide daytime examinations on an ad-hoc basis dependent on the availability of a forensic physician (typically the Clinical Director). However, this is far from satisfactory as the Clinical Director is unable to formalise the arrangement owing to other professional commitments.
The Management Group recently developed a contingency procedure for police officers attempting to arrange daytime examinations, whereby the officer involved is required to undertake a risk assessment exercise in conjunction with the Centre?s Police Liaison Officer to ensure a balance between the preservation of forensic evidence and the needs of the victim.
AGENCIES INVOLVED
St. Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Greater Manchester Police, Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust.
STAR Youth Service Intervention
SUMMARY
Develop the existing STAR service to provide a specialist counselling and support service for young people between the ages of 13 and 16 who have been raped or sexually assaulted.
STAR Service
STAR was established in 1994 to provide counselling and support to adult women and men who have been raped or seriously sexually assaulted in West Yorkshire. It had become apparent that women in the area could wait for up to three years to receive counselling services after rape/sexual assault. Fact finding visits to St Mary's and Reach led to the consideration of the establishment of a SARC but the geographical spread and size of West Yorkshire meant that a centre based project would not give adequate access to all residents. Instead, a unique model was developed that operates by providing locally based volunteers and counsellors working from a range of premises and providing a range of interventions from clinical, therapeutic and practical perspectives. Counsellors and volunteers are contracted on an annual basis and work on a sessional basis so that clients can have a choice of gender, ethnicity and sexuality of worker as well as easy access and flexible appointments. STAR receives its funding from West Yorkshire Police and four Health Authorities in West Yorkshire.
STAR’s clients are 17 and over, resident in West Yorkshire and were victims of incidences of rape or serious sexual assault that occurred in the past year. STAR provides up to 10 counselling sessions for each client and keeps clients informed about any criminal investigations. It also runs specialist training programme for all its counsellors and volunteers.
Youth Service Intervention
INTERVENTIONS
The project will develop its existing service to provide a specialist counselling and support service for young people 13-16 who have been raped or sexually assaulted. The service will be available to young people who live in any area of West Yorkshire. The project will aim to:
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Improve attrition rates by providing improved support and evidence gathering
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Target prevention by undertaking a detailed crime analysis, which in turn will inform education programmes
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Reduce re-offending by tackling the issue of repeat victimisation
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Undertake a client evaluation in respect of the needs of young people and service provision.
Attrition rates for those using this specialist service will be compared against previous police figures held by West Yorkshire Police.
As there is no existing information from service to compare against. The intervention will be assessed by a detailed evaluation of the needs of young people and the quality of service provision from the STAR project.
Using both these analyses will provide detailed information around rape and sexual assault amongst a large sample of young people. This information can then be used to inform future policy and practice to help reduce rape and sexual assault.
AGENCIES INVOLVED
STAR Project, West Yorkshire Community Safety Partnerships, 4 West Yorkshire Health Authorities, West Yorkshire Police, W8 West Yorkshire Victim Support Schemes.
REACH Video and Website Interventions
SUMMARY
Develop purpose built video recording facilities to provide better evidence gathering and a familiar environment for women to give their evidence via video links in the courts. Additionally develop a website to publicise services and reach wider audiences.
REACH Service
REACH opened in 1991 to provide a service to women in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear who had been sexually assaulted. Two reach centres were opened - Rhona Cross Centre in Newcastle and Ellis Fraser Centre in Sunderland - to offer a unique range of services within the same building. This includes experienced women doctors to conduct medical examinations in a purpose built suite (using the Women’s Doctors Scheme and three male doctors for male victims), confidential access to experienced counsellors for a number of sessions regardless of whether the woman wishes to report an assault to provide ongoing support and information, provide specially trained women police officers who can be called upon to conduct an informal interview and take a formal statement if requested, medical advice and linkage to medical services as necessary. It is jointly funded by Northumbria Police and the Health Authorities in the region with contributions from Local Authority Social Services Departments. It also has considerable voluntary input from the Women Doctors Scheme and support from other agencies.
REACH was expanded to incorporate male victims in 1998 (with additional funding from the Health Authorities). Clients now include women and men 16 and over who have been victims of rape or sexual assault.
REACH Video and Website Interventions
INTERVENTIONS
Develop purpose built video recording facilities in both REACH centres in Newcastle and Sunderland. These facilities will enable:
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The collection of better evidence within a safe environment
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A familiar environment for women to give their evidence via video links in the court.
This will hence support victims of rape and sexual assault to give evidence against a known perpetrator without having to experience the trauma of giving evidence in person.
During the project a working group will study the development of the project, research how court members respond to video evidence and consider whether education of judges and other members of court would improve the use of video evidence e.g. education of rape trauma syndrome and its effects of women giving evidence.
A Web site will be developed to improve access to service users, market services and reach wider audiences. It will particularly emphasise the range of services available and reach those who may be suffering sexual abuse by a known perpetrator.
AGENCIES INVOLVED
REACH, Health Authorities, Newcastle City Council, Sunderland City, Police Authority, Women Doctors Scheme and Community Safety Partnership.
Last update: June 2003