It started when Lucy* was just nine years old. A taxi driver, who was employed by her parents, began sexually abusing her as he drove her to and from school each day.
The sickening abuse, which lasted until she was 13, had a profound impact on her. She was afraid about what might happen to her if she spoke out, so she suffered in silence until, at the age of 27, she revealed what had happened to her to the police.
She would not face him in the dock until she was 31 years old, having spent the last two decades grappling with her mental health and trauma until she decided to report him to the police in 2017.
Yet it would take nearly three years for her abuser to come to trial, with Lucy left traumatised after being “treated horrifically” by the justice system, which she believes prioritises the perpetrators over their victims.
The landmark Victims and Prisoners Act received Royal Assent two years ago, yet charities have warned that millions of survivors are yet to benefit from the changes and have missed out on their rights.
Under the Victims’ Code, criminal justice agencies have a duty to monitor and report on how well they deliver victims’ rights, yet support services are yet to be strengthened and key provisions have not come into force.
Research from the NSPCC and Victim Support found that just over a quarter (27 per cent) of victims recalled a referral to specialist support services, and fewer than half of victims believe they can get justice.
open image in galleryWhile Lucy is grateful that the detective in her case was able to secure enough evidence for her abuser to be charged, their approach was “not trauma informed”, and she was consistently told it was highly unlikely her abuser would go to court.
After his arrest, there was one occasion where the detective came to her family home and told her that her abuser “comes across as such a nice guy”.
“I was like ‘well they don’t have rapist or paedophile stuck on their forehead, do they?’” she said. “I thought why on earth have you said that?”.
Over the course of the investigation, she was required to provide five different statements containing the same details, and only met the prosecutor 10 minutes before she was due to take to the witness stand.
Before the trial, she was informed it would be at Kingston Crown Court, and was offered the chance to visit the courtroom to familiarise herself with the courtroom. Yet three days before it was due to begin, she was told it was being moved to Isleworth to suit her abuser’s health needs, and there was no time for her to visit.
“It doesn’t sound like a big deal when you say it now, but when you’re going through it, it’s the biggest deal in the world,” she said.
“It’s all done to suit the perpetrator and I don’t think that’s fair. He’s able to meet the defence lawyer and go through everything, and I meet the prosecutor 10 minutes before.”
At one point during the trial there was an issue with a juror, and Lucy was taken to a side room and left for four hours with no water, food or phone, and was instructed not to leave.
“I was on the stand for two days and I can’t really explain the feeling of being there. It was horrific and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” she said.
“They make you doubt yourself, they make you out to be a liar, I was grilled to the point I actually had a panic attack and I passed out because I couldn’t breathe.”
She was phoned two weeks later to say her abuser had been convicted on eight counts, and was advised not to attend the sentencing as it “wouldn’t be the right thing to do”. He was jailed for nine years, and remains behind bars.
In the months afterwards, she was offered no support nor directed towards specialist services, and her mental health spiralled. “You think when you get justice you want to celebrate but I felt confused, guilty, sad, all kinds of emotion. I didn’t feel happy,” she said.
Last May, she was informed that her abuser was up for parole, and had her request for it to be in person denied. It was also set on a date when she was on holiday in Spain, and was informed if she could not make it, it would go ahead without her.
“The parole officers are awful, I’ve had four in the space of a year and none of them have spoken to me on the phone, just on email. I had to read my impact statement on holiday in Spain, as I knew it was going to go ahead without me.
“He’s up for parole again this year and is due for release in 2028. I’ve requested to have a photo of him but that’s been denied, and they will give me no information. I’m not asking for his National Insurance number, I want an updated photo of a man who is putting in requests to return to a hometown that is 2.5 miles away from me.”
In a joint letter to the Victims’ Commissioner Catherine Atkinson, a number of charities warned that a failure to implement the Code leaves victims “without access to the information and support that they not only need, but to which they are entitled”.
Charities including Victim Support, NSPCC, SafeLives, Catch22, Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, Action for Children and The Children’s Society called on the government to “waste no further time in implementing the duty” on criminal justice organisations to collaborate with commissioning support services.
Katie Kempen, Chief Executive at Victim Support, said: “It beggars belief that two years on we are still waiting for vital measures to be implemented. We know that criminal justice agencies, such as the police, are routinely failing to ensure these vital rights are upheld – which is exactly why this legislation is so essential.
“Without it, the Victims’ Code is toothless.
“Every year, millions of people across the country experience crime – it should be a priority for the government to ensure they are supported and protected. This legislation holds so much promise for victims but, unless it’s brought into force, that promise remains unfulfilled.
“We urge the government to ensure victims’ rights are properly promoted, enforced and made accessible to all victims of crime. Victims and survivors deserve nothing less.”
Elizabeth Crowhurst, Policy Manager at the NSPCC, said: “Every child going through the courts deserves to have their rights under the Victims Code upheld and be supported through every step of the process, yet this is far from reality for too many young victims and witnesses.
“The Victims and Prisoners Act promised much needed change, and it is appalling that two years later these vital reforms have still not been delivered. This means that hundreds of thousands of child victims are still being fundamentally let down by the criminal justice system and are left unable to access the tailored and specialist support that they need.
“That’s why we are standing with Victim Support, along with partners from our Young Victims and Witnesses Coalition, to urge the government to take urgent action to avoid any further delay in putting these measures into practice.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)