The Law and Personal Testimony – can they work together?

Recently I went to a European philosophy event held at the forum, Wolfson theatre, London School of Economics. The title of the debate was called ‘a right to be believed’ which sought to open a dialogue to explore why in terms of sexual abuse cases have offences frequently gone unpunished because victims have not been believed and how, if at all personal testimony can be reconciled with the law and the principle of innocent until proven guilty. The panel was made up of three experts in their perspective field; Gloria Origgi (Researcher and Philosopher, Institute Jean Nicod CNRS, Paris- knowledgeable in personal testimony research) Louise Ellison, Professor of Law (University of Leeds) and Stephen Vullo (QC, Criminal Barrister).

I was interested in going to this debate for a number of reasons; firstly, because I was sexually abused as a child and had partially gone through the legal process. Secondly, as a woman who believes strongly in power of personal testimony and as someone who shares publicly my story to educate and empower others. Lastly as a leader of an organisation that predominately deals with survivors of historical sexual abuse, I wanted to hear how the law deals with cases of past abuse and to hear specifically if the prosecution rate was successful. As I listened, I found myself reflecting retrospectively on my past experience and wondered in the context and criteria of the law as it stands today, if I was to decide as an historical victim to go back and report to the police again now, would my case go further than it did 27 years ago?

Before the mid nineties, just twenty years ago, QC Barrister Stephen Vullo said the police worked from a standpoint of disbelieving victims first, taking on the assumption that children are liars, especially all the more unbelievable in matters such as abuse. He explained massive changes have taken place over the last twenty years in how cases of this nature are approached and prosecuted. The introduction of special measures under provision of the victims charter (video interviews, etc) are meant to support victims going through legal process however, it seems the vulnerable and not quite benefitting from these changes as they should. Pre mid nineties, my experience of dealing with the police and authorities as a young girl was relatively positive considering the seriousness of the situation. The police, doctors and social workers in my case were nothing but supportive and did indeed believe my account of events, as there was physical evidence and because I displayed indicators of sexual abuse and PTSD. The problem however arose from the Crown Prosecution Service who said whilst there was conclusive physical evidence of actual sexual abuse (I underwent a physical examination) because the room where most of the incidents took place (room over my Grans house) was cleared out, they were not confidant that physical evidence alone was enough to secure a conviction. I felt so let down and angry at the time because in effect my Father had got away with what he done to me. It was not easy for me to articulate in detail the things he done and for a long time it felt like my experience was for nothing.

The decision to report abuse to the legal authorities is a decision that is not taken lightly. For the brave minority of victims who have the courage to go to the police in the first place it is an extremely emotionally draining and difficult task, that needs to be handled with the sensitivity it respectively deserves because to treat with disdain will only compound an already traumatising experience for the victim. It is important to note that based on recent evidence and research carried out by HM inspectorate constabulary states that while in theory police are supposed to be recording reported allegations of sexual abuse (working from guidelines set from their directorate) and working from the assumption allegations reported are true (accepting what victims say in the first instance then carrying out a thorough fact finding investigation to find ‘evidence of truth’) in practice constabularies across the country are not doing this consistently and shockingly their findings state since the Jimmy Savile scandal this has not really changed. It is so serious that the HM inspectorate highlights this ‘as an area of grave concern’.

How is this so? With all the press coverage, panels and documentaries that have pulled apart culturally, legally and morally every aspect of how this man, a prominent face of an national institution such as the BBC got away with sexual abuse of this magnitude, have the attitude and practices of the police not really changed? Has the shock of this scandal not finally awoken the government to seriousness and scale of this health epidemic?

In my opinion not only should lessons be learned from scandals such as Savile and more recently Rotherham but also used as an opportunity to renew understanding of the issues that affect why victims do not come forward in the first place and used to continuously review obstacles that hinder justice being served. Is it possible this information could be used as resource to help those responsible for administering the law gain better insight? Who knows, but it is worth considering when we hear of cases where victims have to choose between getting therapeutic help and support first or pursuing the legal process or faulty video and recording equipment not working for victims to do interviews, according to Professor Louise Ellison, an advocate for the vulnerable going through the law system. Surely emotional and psychological support is needed when going through something as enormous as this. Any support to help those wronged pursue justice and see it through to the end should be encouraged. The fact cases are going unpunished because victims feel they will not be believed is one of the reasons why they do not come forward and the perpetrator escapes being held accountable and therefore becomes a risk to someone else. Jimmy Savile was allowed to pass away without accountability for his crimes (well, escape worldly justice!) he abused not one (that is bad enough) but hundreds! It is not only famous and powerful that are not being held accountable but everyday in communities and families all over the world, men and women who perpetrate these offences are getting away too. In the face of these findings and with the slow realisation of the impact of sexual abuse, we have to wonder what will bring about the drastic change that will take the huge burden of responsibility off the victim and enable them to feel confident in speaking out and not treated like the one who has perpetrated abuse.

What is not so obvious and awkward to talk about are false allegations of sexual abuse against someone; I can personally say this is not a nice experience for anyone to go through. The damage and innuendo left behind regardless if the person was never talked to or interviewed by the police officially or otherwise, has long lasting implications for the person and their family and it is good that the law has a benchmark of investigation to stop the escalation of such scenarios. In his experience QC Stephen Vullo said out of all crime sexual abuse and rape have the highest percentage of false allegations. It is a two edged sword in a sense; we cannot pick and choose what degree the police investigate allegations reported to them.

There are no certainties in the outcome when reporting abuse to the authorities but it is a crime and the government should use the public eye on a national scale to encourage victims to report it and make known that it is taken seriously; thus taken on governmental responsibility. I believe it is highly likely that unless there are other complainants of the abuser, physical or documented evidence that backs the timeline in favour of the historical CSA victim it will rest solely on their personal testimony. The odds of the abuser getting a custodial sentence, if it even makes it to court are not very favourable; the prosecution rate for sexual abuse case is below fifty percent.

I know of a few cases where the victim of historical CSA has gone to the police, gone through the court process only to find the abuser has not received a sentence but just had the offence recorded against their name. This is for future reference in case an allegation comes up against them again, will show they have been already taken to court for a similar offence. Others have seen the abuser received substantial sentences because as the police have gone back in the family history as part of their investigation, have found other victims who had a similar experience at the hands of the same abuser. To learn that some victims dropout during the court process is no surprise when you learn the wheels of justice takes two years to turn; that is a very long time.

The personal obstacles a victim of CSA has to overcome in order to get to a point of acknowledging and disclosing in most circumstances takes place months, years after the abuse has taken place as we can see in cases such as Savile. Statistics, documented research from experts respected in the field of sexual abuse and work I have personally done through Daughter Arise with survivors of abuse corroborate this fact. The reason it can take a long time to disclose can be for a variety of reasons; fear, guilt, shame, threats of violence by the abuser or consequences threatened by family, loss of family and friendships, humiliation, rejection or as many victims are told ‘no one will believe you’ can all affect the time it takes to speak out sooner. When added to the unresolved hopelessness one may feel about the situation already, can make the victim hesitant to speak out as the powerlessness remembered at the moment of abuse stays as a reminder firmly imprinted on the emotional psyche years after. Sexual abuse may not carry signs of physical violence but as Researcher and Philosopher Gloria Origgi said ‘the psychological violence in the case of sexual abuse is much worse’.

This is never taken into consideration in the media and for whatever reason people think that physical injury is the pinnacle proof of evidence that something sinister has happened that is why education and awareness is very important. Believe me, when you have experienced sexual abuse it affects you in ways you do not even realise sometimes years after the event. Memories of pain and betrayal may ease with time but the violation of its intrusiveness, the shackles of shame and guilt that invites itself into your life and cuffs onto you as a burden and reminder of its presence is something that is hard to be free from. Regardless of physical evidence, the trauma left behind can only be expressed through the one wronged by its cruel injustice. To suffer in pain inside and be robbed of the fullness life can bring in spite of challenges is a travesty. Through our own individual stories the power of personal testimony is the only thing millions of us survivors have in a world that still does not grasp the wounds caused by a crime many of us will never see justice for.

On the subject of personal testimony Gloria Origgi highlighted ‘there is always an emotional cost for the person’ besides the aforementioned, mental and psychological distress are other factors that cause further upset for the victim. The question she said has to be asked when considering the testimony of someone is ‘what interest does it serve for the person to speak out?’ Both these statements I have found to be true very true. On all fronts the cost for me in speaking out and telling the truth has been high. I was ostracised from my family and made to feel like I was the one with the problem for not colluding in keeping the secret and encouraged to deny what happened to me. I was called a liar, troublemaker and warned by my Father early on in the abuse that if I ever spoke about what he was doing to me that I would go deaf, dumb and blind, and in the aftermath years later left dealing with depression and other issues. Yet when presented with the opportunity to tell someone I chose to because within me I sensed something greater was at risk of being destroyed. It was in my interest to tell someone because I was in danger within that family and to continue to tell my story is in the interest of others, to let them know there is dignity and hope in finding your voice and reclaiming your life from wherever it stands; that is the power of testimony. I have never wavered from telling the truth about my story nor shirked away from telling the brutality and havoc caused in the aftermath in my life. When sharing my experience with different audiences as a public speaker I always say that if God would have shown me the cost, emotional pain, hardship and the many years it would take in order to be free from the affects of being abused by my Father, and given me the opportunity to go back in time to make a different choice, I still have chosen to speak out. I still would have made the same decision.

The questions I had were neither addressed (I did try and put up my hand a few times but I was not picked during the debate) or asked by any of the audience members who were mainly law students interested in legal angles rather than the emotional dilemmas facing victims going through the legal process. That is fair enough but it would have been interesting to know from either of the legal experts on the panel what is taken into consideration when forming a historical sexual abuse prosecution case and how the police come to a conclusion of charging someone accused of it where no physical evidence is present.

The law quite rightly is there to be fair and unbiased; many would argue this is not the case. But the law cannot operate on human emotions because if it were based on feelings the system would never work. It has to operate from a standard of guidelines and framework to administer justice and because of that it is possible people slip through the net or not get the sentences we think they deserve. Maybe it’s the people behind the roles, in police organisations or bar councils that would benefit from inviting reputable charities to run courses for their employees on sexual abuse awareness to gain more of an understanding, as the saying goes; knowledge is power.

I think with the Goddard inquiry that is looking into establishment abuse, we will see more historical cases being opened and already the panel have been handing to the police information to investigate. Hopefully off the back of the panel findings this will bring about that drastic change and awareness that is needed; I believe to an extent this inquiry will go someway to empower all victims and survivors of sexual abuse. Because sexual abuse in its very nature has the ability to completely distort or destroy a persons life without some kind of outlet and support, one thing I am certain of; the journey for anyone who chooses to speak out and pursue justice is a complex and hard battle.

On the basis of what I heard, would I choose to go back and report to the police now and go through the legal process to pursue justice? Sometimes I think I should more for the principle rather than anything else. But for me as a someone who has a relationship with God, I believe the ultimate justice will be served and my Father will have to answer for what he did to me; from the assurance of Gods word I have gained peace and satisfaction knowing that. He is at the end of his life now and I have in the last decade just started to regain my life and break out from under the shadow of what was left behind. I have moved on with my life and whilst the faint memory of disappointment lingers from time to time I choose to use my experiences to help others pursue freedom and justice.

The right to be believed has to be earned it seems, to convince others something happened whilst being believed is accepting what the person said. Depending on the circumstances for the victim of sexual abuse the former is the obstacle most face whether going to the police, trying to tell family or friends. Through the support and backing from a government level, not just the hardworking and in some cases underfunded charities out here standing up for the abused will make the difference. There are 11.4 million adult survivors of sexual abuse in this country. This is not just an individual, family or community problem; it is a constituent country and world problem.

Steps are slowly being made and there is hope because signs of progress have been made but considering the first case of sexual abuse was reported in the 1950’s in this country, I would say there is still some way to go in the law and personal testimony working together in a way that empowers the vulnerable.