Should I report? Your options after rape

Should I report it?

Reporting helps stop rapists doing it again

There are 3 reporting options:

Report to the Police. They will possibly refer you to a SARC for a full forensic examination
Go to a SARC to get a complete forensic examination, immediate 24 hr in person care for all your needs, and advice
Report with Enough. Self-test simply and discreetly and write a time-stamped testimony. Create deterrence and decide later if you want to report further.

Should I report to the Police?

The police themselves say this is a personal decision*

It can help emotionally as part of the recovery process.
Where rape or sexual assault happened in a relationship, as part of a pattern of domestic abuse, reporting can help end the relationship and escape the violence.
It could be the first step on the road to a guilty verdict in court.
It can help them solve other cases and stop the attacker assaulting someone else.

*www.police.ukAs the police themselves say, it is totally normal to be very unsure about reporting rape or sexual assault to the police, and about 85% choose not to. It is a survivor’s right to report what happened to them when and to whom they choose.

Should I go to a SARC?

Go to a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) to get immediate 24hr care for all your needs, a complete forensic examination, and advice on next steps.

A complete forensic examination will ensure that the most evidence is professionally collected and has the best likelihood of being relevant and admissible, helping achieve an eventual prosecution in a wider range of criminal prosecutions.

The manner in which any evidential sample is retrieved, analysed and stored could well be the subject of challenge in a criminal trial. Anyone involved in that process, including survivors using Enough, could be questioned and challenged about that in court. There are no guarantees that evidence relating to a DNA sample will be deemed admissible at trial. Each case will depend on its own circumstances.

The SARC is independent and can help you decide next steps without any pressure to report to the police

Should I report with enough?

Enough provides an alternative for survivors to deter offenders from engaging in sexual assaults, and support them through their recovery.
Enough is quick, easy, and totally private
You can share the aim of creating real deterrence and encouraging other survivors to do the same
It is 100% legal to report to Enough. You hold the power to decide exactly what you want to do, and when. No-one else.
An Enough report can have 3 parts:
1. An anonymous statement published to thousands on our website and in social media, telling the world what you want (with no names or details capable of identifying the offender)
2. A private record (optional) eg: who, what, where, when; encrypted in a private account for your eyes only. This is saved and time stamped. You can download it any time you want and take it to the police in the future. This can create powerful deterrence.
3. Self collect a DNA sample from your own body (optional). Get it analysed at our lab within 48 hours. The result is saved to your encrypted account, and half the sample is frozen at the lab for 20 years. You can allow police access to it if you ever want to. This could create powerful deterrence.

Students in Bristol are choosing to report to Enough hundreds of times more often than they are to their University; and about 6x more often than they are to the Police.

Is Enough evidence admissible in Court?*

In principle, yes, Enough’s evidence can be admissible in court

Enough is very new and only a relatively small number of kits have been distributed, so there has not been sufficient time for a first test case.

However, Enough kits are successfully being used to collect perpetrator DNA by survivors, and have been passed to the police as part of an investigation

The National Police Chiefs Council have instructed the police to use Enough’s evidence where available, and to not discourage anyone from reporting with it

DNA collected from forensic examinations by the police or a SARC has the best evidentiary value. And clothing and tampons have also been admitted.

DNA evidence from any source (including the police/SARC) is only relevant where the accused denies physical contact, a minority of cases.

This is because DNA does not show consent.

There is no type of DNA evidence that is always guaranteed admissible in court, but any evidence can be of value and admissible, including Enough.

Enough’s forensic grade DNA kit was developed, and is produced by, the same people that develop and produce kits for the British police

For Enough’s evidence specifically, it will be considered for admission if the survivor will testify that the DNA sample was correctly collected following the instructions to avoid contamination. The judge will decide whether it will be admitted.

*Full legal opinion by a leading KC Rape Barrister, see here.