Dozens of women identified as victims of drug enabled rape after Gisèle Pelicot case
The National Crime Agency (NCA) says it’s uncovered several global online forums where people have been sharing tips, selling drugs and sending videos of women being raped after being plied with substances.
Dozens of women have been identified as victims of sexual assault by their close friends and partners without ever being aware of it, because of them being drugged.
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The National Crime Agency (NCA) says it’s uncovered several global online forums where people have been sharing tips, selling drugs and sending videos of women being raped after being plied with substances.
The investigation has raised similarities to Gisèle Pelicot’s case in France, after she was repeatedly drugged and raped in her own home, by her husband and several other men.
She only found out about the attacks, spanning nine years, when her husband was arrested for upskirting and images were found on his computer.
In the UK, officials say 15 investigative leads into similar cases have been sent to police forces in the past year, which has so far led to eight arrests and eight people being safeguarded.
The NCA has also referred more than 200 leads to international partners, with a senior official describing what’s been uncovered as “a truly global network”.
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Nigel Leary, deputy director at the NCA, told LBC: “This is being coordinated by online communities who are collaborating, capturing and sharing video footage as well as meeting to sexually assault women using substances to avoid detection.
“It’s horrendous and deeply concerning. And because women often don’t know it’s happened to them, it’s a very complex matter for investigators.
“It’s difficult for me to give you any decisive information about the length of time this has been going on - as we saw with Gisele Pelicot the offending window was very large.
“This is a truly global issue affecting people across all continents and I think in terms of scale for us, any scale is deeply concerning. It’s about the horrendous nature of these crimes which have been hidden.
“But we do see them and we’re now investigating them.”
In many cases, investigators say, perpetrators take advantage of close relations with their victims, including marriages, friendships and working relationships.
Ages of victims are “as diverse as our community”, LBC was told, with some older women being attacked, as well as younger people.
Last week, European enforcement agencies gathered in London as part of an attempt to identify more perpetrators and victims, to be safeguarded.
During the meeting, 156 more people were identified, 274 new investigative leads were realised and four new misogynistic online communities were uncovered.
Police and prosecutors have said it’s important that women are supported fully when they’re identified, given the fact they often don’t have any memory of being attacked.
Helen Millichap, Director at the police National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls, said sometimes investigators know a victim’s been attacked before they do.
“If we have found out about one of these awful offences through the online inquiry the NCA is doing here, it might be the police that first approaches a victim and they have to help them understand what’s happened.
“It’s very difficult and that’s why we’re saying If anyone’s concerned or suspects something like this is happening to them, they shouldn’t have to wait to be sure.
“Getting help doesn’t always have to involve contacting the police. The first signs might be a health concern, so it may be likely a health professional sees the first signs or indicators of this.
“We’re trying to work across the whole system to make sure that whoever hears first from somebody who might suspect that this is happening, we’ve got a really joined up way of understanding how to help that person quickly.”