Open letter about FFLM & Rape Crisis
From: Enough
To: Students, Universities, and Students Unions
26th September 2026
Dear Students, Students Unions, and University Leaders
On 10 September 2026 the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM) wrote to Students’ Union presidents about Enough. On 18 September Rape Crisis England and Wales posted about Enough on LinkedIn. Both contain statements that are untrue. They risk confusing the very students and survivors they aim to protect.
We want to set the record straight. Simply and respectfully.
1. Enough is free and not for profit
Rape Crisis described our kits as commercial products sold to students. This is untrue. Enough is a Community Interest Company. We do not sell kits. We give them free to anyone who asks. We do not make or distribute profits.
2. Enough is backed by independent research and by students
Rape Crisis says there is no independently established evidence base for what we do. This is untrue. Independent research by Censuswide in May 2026 found that 75% of people believe the current reporting process actively deters survivors. Our university pop up research surveyed over 800 students at 10 universities including UCL and King’s College London and LSE and Cambridge and Reading and Brighton. 44% said they would report to Enough 31% to the police and 15% to a SARC. 75% said they would be more likely to go on to report to the police after first reporting to Enough. This initial evidence suggests the importance of an independent evaluation.
3. Enough was built with expert advice and is honest about it
The FFLM says it did not help develop our kit. In 2023 and 2024 we met several of leadership team (at that time) of the FFLM. We discussed how to collect uncontaminated swabs in private and the design of the kit and the choice of swab and laboratory and DNA tests and our instructions to survivors. We never asked for or claimed an endorsement. In one early document we described the FFLM as advisers. We apologised and removed it at once. It is correct that the FFLM gave us advice, for which we are grateful.
4. Enough always puts the police and SARCs first
Both organisations suggest our kits could harm criminal justice outcomes or lead students away from specialist care. This is untrue. Enough is clearly presented as the third option after the police and a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). No one can use Enough without first confirming they understand that a full forensic examination is more comprehensive and may carry more weight in court. The police themselves advise survivors to preserve their own evidence. The vast majority of survivors do not have evidence today, Enough helps retain evidence otherwise lost.
5. Enough connects survivors to the care they need
Rape Crisis says survivors may miss treatment for injuries or pregnancy or infections. This is untrue. We signpost every survivor to the services they may need or want. That includes the police and SARCs and Rape Crisis. Our evidence shows Enough makes students more aware of these services and therefore more likely to use them. 74% of students surveyed by Enough had not heard of a SARC, Enough volunteers educated them on this option.
6. Enough tells survivors the truth about the law
Both suggest we mislead survivors about DNA in court. This is untrue. We have always said DNA alone cannot prove rape because it cannot prove lack of consent. We have always said Enough DNA “can” be admissible. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) asked us to change and after consultation with CAP we now say “can in principle be admissible”. No Enough sample has yet reached trial for a simple reason. Our first kit was used two years ago and most rape cases take at least that long to reach court. DNA does not require a specific collection method to be admissible. Any DNA evidence can be challenged, including SARC evidence. Last year in Avon and Somerset 616 forensic examinations led to just 10 DNA samples being presented in court.
7. Enough is honest about the scale of rape
The FFLM says the ASA found we overstated how common rape is. This is untrue. The ruling followed a complaint from a single individual. The ASA did not find our figure was wrong. It asked us to make clear that it is an estimate and explain how we reach it. Using the data Rape Crisis itself publishes we estimate there are around half a million rapes in the UK each year.
8. Enough is built to prevent rape
The FFLM says there is no evidence Enough deters rape. Enough is far more than a kit. In six months at the University of Bristol students reported over 200 rapes to Enough. 90% of students knew about Enough. In polls run by student societies 86% said they would report to Enough and 70% said they believed it was creating deterrence. This is not yet proof. It is strong early evidence and we welcome anyone who wants to study it with us.
9. No case has collapsed because of Enough
The FFLM repeats claims that cases have collapsed where kits were used. This is untrue. No one has provided any evidence of such a case. We know which kits police have requested. Police forces have been told to use Enough evidence where it exists and not to discourage survivors from coming forward with it.
Who are the FFLM?
The FFLM is not a regulator. The FFLM sets the exams that everyone must pass to work at a SARC. The FFLM are paid to provide the training and administer the exams. They are then paid membership fees to represent their members within the medical profession. Many of those who lead the FFLM work for SARCs.
Everyone has the right to collect DNA from their own body if they want. In fact over 1 million people a year already successfully collect uncontaminated DNA at home. To determine paternity, understand their genetic risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer, and for genealogy.
Who are Rape Crisis England & Wales
Rape Crisis England & Wales is a long established feminist charity working on sexual violence. It provides a national help line and chat service, and there are 35 other member Rape Crisis charities providing local in person support to Survivors. Rape Crisis charities receive mainly public funding, estimated to be over £70 million a year, to provide their support services. Nationally, Rape Crisis supported about 48,000 people last year and about 21,000 received some counselling or therapy. About 12,000 people are on waiting lists. Apart from raising awareness about the prevalence and impacts of sexual violence and abuse, they do not propose any new prevention strategies. Rape Crisis seeks more public funding to expand their support services.
Students are standing with Enough
Enough has mass student support. We have well over 100,000 social media followers and over 60 million social media views. 20,000 people a week use our free trauma recovery resources. Student volunteers are running Enough at universities across the country including Kings College London, Nottingham Trent and Cambridge, with many more starting at their universities soon. They expose the hidden rape epidemic on their campuses and help create the change to keep their friends safe. The kits are a very small part of their work. Young men are among our strongest supporters.
This is a movement led by students who have said clearly that they want real prevention a new way to report, and a new way to get support. The level of support that young people and students are showing in the work they do for Enough is a phenomenon that the whole of society should be encouraging. No other organization has the potential to create mass support amongst the very people who are most at risk within the social groups from which their perpetrators come.
Why we are writing publicly
We have contacted both organisations several times. Most recently on the 27th of September. We explained why their statements are untrue and confusing for students and survivors. We offered to meet both to agree a common position statement. We have not heard back from the FFLM. Rape Crisis have written declining to ever meet us, withdraw or apologise for their untrue statements. They have asked us to stop writing to them when they misrepresent us.
We find it regrettable that two such powerful publicly funded organisations appear to be trying to hinder a new organisation that may bring real prevention and new ways to report. Students and survivors have asked for these alternatives. Fewer than one in seven survivors report to the police today. 95% choose not to go to a SARC. Less than 10% get any support from Rape Crisis, less than 5% get counselling or therapy from them.
We share your objectives of tackling this hideous epidemic of sexual violence, and welcome any questions that you may have.
Yours sincerely
Katie White and Tom Allchurch
Co founders
Enough
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