A harrowing documentary examining low rape conviction rates has revealed how one victim 'wished she hadn't reported' the alleged attack after she felt like she was on trial.
Featuring powerful testimony from victims, Rape: Who's on Trial which airs tonight on Channel 4, explores the staggeringly low conviction rates for sexual offences by following Avon and Somerset Police over two years.
One woman, who says she was raped after meeting a man in a toilet cubical, revealed she felt like she was on trial - rather than her alleged abuser.
She said she 'wished she hadn't reported' her alleged assault to the police after they decided there wasn't enough evidence to investigate the case.
In other cases explored on the Channel 4 documentary police say they thought they had a 'very strong case' in support on women who had reported sexual assault, but the alleged perpetrators were later found not guilty in court.
In the year to March 2020, just 1.4 per cent of rape cases recorded by police resulted in a suspect being charged in the UK - and two of the cases in the show ended with the suspect going free, one without enough evidence to charge the man at all.
Featuring powerful testimony from victims, Rape: Who's on Trial, explores the low conviction rates for sexual offences by following Avon & Somerset Police over two years. Stock image
Another case featured revealed body cam footage of a 19-year-old girl, terrified in the back of a police car saying her mother's drunk boyfriend had snuck into her bedroom and raped her in her bed.
In one phone call to police the mother of a 16-year-old girl can be heard saying her daughter was followed by a stranger off the bus and forced to perform oral sex under the threat of violence.
The documentary shines a light on women whose reports didn't even lead to a charge.
Another case from Bath, shows a woman reported a sexual assault on a night out after meeting a man in a pub, exchanging numbers and going inside the toilets together.
The woman claims that while she willingly met the man in the male toilet cubical, she had not consented to him performing sexual acts on her. However the man alleged the physical contact was mutual and consensual.
After police investigated the case further, discovering intimate photos had been sent to the alleged perpetrator, detectives decided that they could not prove beyond doubt that the man was guilty of assaulting her.
'It's definitely affected me as a person, not in a nice way,' she said. 'I have had quite a few panic attacks, I think I have less confidence overall now.
In the year to March 2020, just 1.4 per cent of rape cases recorded by police resulted in a suspect being charged in the UK. Pictured, Constable Mandy Claridge and Detective Constable Dale Morgan
'I've definitely not been going out as much. They wanted my phone and at that point I knew they were doing it to get more information, but I felt I was a little bit on trial. Are they looking at my life? That felt very intrusive.
'I wish I hadn't of reported it, because it affects your life so much and then to get a phone call to say they're not taking it any further because it doesn't meet their point threshold, it's just like okay. Yeah.'
In another case, two women claimed they were raped by the same man in a Bristol hotel after a night out.
In one woman's account to police, she alleged she had woken up to find a stranger in their room who proceeded to have non-consensual sex with both her and her friend.
After two years, the man was charged with the rape of both women. He claimed that he had met the two women when they were returning to their room and the sex was consensual.
Rape: Who's On Trial? will air on Channel 4, Monday 9pm. Pictured, Detective Constable Dale Morgan and Constable Mandy Claridge
