Hi All,

I just read this news report today, although I don't feel like it makes me jump for joy in a eureka stylee.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8567337.stm

Thanks for listing this article

I responded to the article with the following:

I was drug raped by a man who I thought was a friend. When I first met him 3 months prior, I had consensual sex on two occassions. It was clear that all I wanted was a friendship. This resulted in him drug raping me whilst on a break to Amsterdam.

When I reported it to Lewisham Police. They failed to offer me Victim Support as they had ticked a box saying I didn't need it. Two male officers interviewed me in a room without a female present and they were very intimidating suggesting I should drop the charges. Following my examination at the rape suite, the SOIT officer was more concerned with doing her paperwork. She did not even ask me how I was and drove me back to the station in silence. They did not photograph my injuries for 4 days and told me that they could not prove how I sustained the injuries. The CPS told me I could have got them from falling over. I had a lump to the back of my head; finger print bruising on my arms, and bruises on the front and back of my thighs my lower legs and buttocks. The officers never kept me informed of progress on my case. They were unwilling to do a hairstrand test until I made a complaint with the IPCC. The fact that drugs leave your system so quickly following drug rape meant that there was no evidence in my blood and urine so I was desperate to have my hair tested. Unfortunately, it took them 5 months to agree to the test and when it came back it was negative. As soon as they had done all their forensic tests and there was no trace of drugs in my system they treated me worst than ever. They lied to me and told me that they could not collect evidence in Amsterdam or interview witnesses because it was out of their jurisdiction. I have since found out this is not true and it is in their jurisdiction. I was lied to. The CPS told me that because of a lack of evidence they could not take it to court. Gary Dolby of the CPS said that my mind might have been playing tricks on me and the flash backs that I had could have been my imagination. He said I could have sustained my injuries from falling over and he is glad they dont have lie detector tests for perpetrators. He said that I had consensual sex on two occassions and implied I had asked for it because I went on holiday with the man. The CPS told me that they had a dilemma being that the rapist admitted having sex with me but claimed it was consensual. They told me that I was asking them to believe he was telling the truth about the sex (rape) but I was asking them not to believe him that it was consensual and that for that reason they felt it was inappropriate! In fact what they should have done was deal with the issue of consent to prove that he was lying. They have now released a rapist onto the streets of South London. A rapist who admitted he had sex with me!!! They made me feel like I had lied all the way through my case. Every piece of potential evidence I had they were keen to discard. I was the victim and yet I felt like the accused. Everything was in the favour of the rapist. He even got to see my video evidence and to watch how broken down I was. This made me feel like I was being raped all over again. I was unable to hear what he had said and yet what he said went unchallenged! I recorded the CPS meeting on a dictaphone which evidences the way in which I was treated as a victim. Following the CPS meeting I lodged a complaint with the IPCC!!

It is not good enough that the police and CPS treat a victim of drug rape in this appalling manner! The law does not protect the victim!! We know that drugs leave the system quickly so there is a limited chance of obtaining forensic evidence. This is coupled with the fact that the drugs cause victims to loose their memory and often they cant give a coherent account of what has happened. This is used against drug rape victims!! Despite the fact the rapist has broke the law they are freed to rape again because of a lack of evidence. These cases should go to court and a Jury should decide. The CPS should not be playing gate keepers and they should not be judge and jury!! As victims we have a right to be heard. Convicting rapists is in the best interests of the public as defined by the Sexual Offences Act, yet the police are freeing rapists everyday!!! Victims should be allowed to have solicitors to support them through the minefield of reporting rape and the subsequent handling of cases by the police.

The way the law currently deals with drug rape, it enables a man to pick a victim, rape her and feel confident that he will get off because of the lack of memory and forensic evidence. This law will breed a society of rapists!! Rape is a crime and the rapists need to be punished. The police have no faith in convictions and therefore cant be bothered to do thorough investigations. It is a mockery!!

Please feel free to contact me!! I am willing to play you the recording from my meeting with the CPS.