When rape victims fear the justice system almost as much as the rapist, something is deeply broken

Working within violence against women and girls, you quickly realise the public only sees a fraction of the damage. They see headlines, statistics and court cases. We see the aftermath. We see the panic attacks, the shame, the eating disorders, the self-harm, the addictions, the broken sleep, the suicidal thoughts and the women sitting in front of us questioning whether what happened to them was even “bad enough” to report.

Now, victims are watching these cases unfold in real time. While they are deciding whether to take back control of their lives and fight back, they are also watching what happens to those who do report. Years waiting for justice. Years living in fear. Years of having every message, memory and behaviour scrutinised while trying to survive overwhelming trauma.

Less than 3% of recorded rape offences currently result in a charge or summons, while around 60% of rape investigations collapse because victims can no longer emotionally survive the process. Those figures matter because every public outcome sends a message to every other victim silently debating whether to come forward.

At the same time, many of us working in this field are deeply concerned about the growing normalisation of rape culture, particularly amongst young people. We are seeing increasing desensitisation towards sexual violence, humiliation, coercion and misogyny online. Harmful attitudes towards women and girls are spreading through social media, pornography, peer pressure and online influencers who promote dominance, entitlement and lack of empathy.

What is becoming increasingly alarming is the growing public hostility towards victims themselves. There are now active online groups and movements demanding women be prosecuted when rape trials end in a not guilty verdict, despite the fact a not guilty outcome does not automatically mean a report was false. That shift is creating even greater fear amongst survivors already terrified of speaking out.

Most victims already struggle with shame, self blame and fear before they ever speak to police. When society publicly tears apart victims after trials, debates what they wore, how they acted or why they did not fight harder, it reinforces the belief that reporting rape may cause more damage than staying silent.

We work with women and girls who have spent months or years building the courage to disclose rape or abuse, only to feel dismantled by delays, disbelief and invasive questioning. Many describe the process itself as retraumatising. Some withdraw because their nervous systems remain in survival mode for so long they simply cannot endure it any further.

The long-term impact of sexual violence is not only psychological. Trauma changes the nervous system. It affects memory, emotional regulation, trust, relationships and a person’s entire sense of safety in the world. Research shows a third of women raped contemplate suicide following the assault.

This is not outrage for the sake of outrage. It is about recognising that public trust in the justice system matters. If victims lose faith completely, silence grows. And silence protects perpetrators, not survivors.

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Jane Gregory is the founder of the Salford domestic abuse charity The Survivor Project.

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