News

Rape Victim Wins Criminal Injury Compensation

A rape victim who was told her compensation would be cut because she had been drinking before the attack has had the decision overturned.

The 25-year-old was raped after a night out, but when she applied for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) she was told the standard criminal injury compensation would be cut in her case from £11,000 to £8,250 because “the evidence shows that your excessive consumption of alcohol was a contributing factor in the incident.”

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was raped five years ago on a night out in the West End of London – her attacker has never been caught. She complained to the Metropolitan Police about the way her case was investigated and received an official apology. Two officers were disciplined.

The woman described receiving the letter as “like being slapped in the face”.

“It was just so cruel and unthinking and so wrong because there is nothing you can do to prevent yourself being raped. It is not illegal to go out and have a drink, it is illegal to rape somebody,” she said.

In court, her lawyer, Debaleena Dasgupta successfully argued it was wrong to regard alcohol consumption as a contributing factor in rape cases. She said that it was unfair because it implied the victim had been responsible for being raped.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has admitted that in the past year, 14 other rape victims had had their compensation awards reduced because they had been drinking.

CICA has issued a statement acknowledging it should not have happened in any case, and confirming it is not policy to cut compensation for rape victims because of alcohol consumption.

The Ministry of Justice also said it was not its policy to reduce the level of award to a victim of rape due to alcohol consumption.

Lisa Longstaff, of Women Against Rape, said the original decision by the CICA was symptomatic of the “blame culture” experienced by rape victims.

“It used to be that they were always blamed if they were wearing a short skirt, today it’s that they were drinking,” she said.

“It’s very important for women who’ve been victims of rape to get compensation because often it’s the only acknowledgement you are going to get that you have been a victim of crime, given that the conviction rate in this country is only 6%.”

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