Sex abuse victims 'must get specialist support'

Encouraging abuse victims to come forward without a specialist support system in place is "totally irresponsible", campaigners have said.

In an open letter, 150 signatories including Rape Crisis and Refuge, are calling for fully-funded support to be included in the upcoming Victims Bill.

It was written by a woman whose friend helped convict their abusive running coach but then took her own life.

The government says it is improving support for victims at every stage.

The letter's author Charlie Webster and her friend Katie belonged to the same running group in Sheffield as teenagers. But the best friends never shared with each other that that their coach Paul North had sexually abused them over many years.

In 2002, North was jailed for 10 years after Katie and another victim reported him to police. Then aged 18, she had found the strength to give evidence against him in court.

But once North was convicted, Katie's mother Sue said her daughter was abandoned by a criminal justice system that seemed more interested in the offender than the victim.

"In a way, she was sacrificed," she told the BBC. "She got let down by the police, by the running club, and she got left hung out to dry."

Katie was offered very little therapeutic support during the court process and nothing over the next 20 years.

"I can't see how she could have been expected to have got over that and just got on with life," Sue added.

While North served just half of his sentence, his victims were left to deal with their ongoing trauma. For Katie, this culminated with her taking her own life at her home in Australia in January this year aged 39. Her mum said she had never got over what had happened.

The Victims and Prisoners Bill, which is aiming to offer improved, legally-defined support to crime victims in England and Wales, is to be debated by MPs in the Commons on Monday.

But campaigners are concerned that a key element is missing - guaranteed funding written into law to provide the specialist support services needed to help these victims recover from their trauma.

Ms Webster and charity Rape Crisis have sent the letter to the Justice Secretary Alex Chalk. Its signatories include other charities like Women's Aid, plus athletes Sebastian Coe and Paula Radcliffe.

In the open letter, Ms Webster shares Katie's story, explaining that her friend had done what society had asked of her.

"She spoke out, she stood tall despite victim blaming and because of her courage, others were saved," she writes. "Katie did her duty to society. But what about Katie? What did the system do to help her? She deserved better."

Ms Webster urges the justice secretary to ensure sufficient multi-year funding is allocated to ensure victims are given access to counselling and emotional support to help them rebuild their lives.

A young, talented athlete who was abused by her coach then betrayed by the system.

The letter says specialist support services are facing unprecedented demand, which it says, coupled with a chronic lack of underfunding, means survivors are waiting many months, even years, for support.

Rape Crisis England and Wales says it has 14,000 survivors on its waiting lists.

Ms Webster adds: "It is irresponsible and dangerous to raise awareness of victims' rights to then leave them unable to access any help or support due."

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Webster said going through the justice system at the moment "can be really traumatising" and there is a "disconnect" between victims, the justice system and the government.

Jayne Butler, CEO of Rape Crisis, said demand for the charity's services has increased by 38% in the past year, "clearly demonstrating the pressures on specialist services which have been unable to meet demand for a long time".

"I want to see a Victims Bill that gives victims and survivors what Katie and Charlie never had. If the government truly wishes to make a difference with this bill it must provide the funding needed to support it," she added.

In its report about the draft bill, the cross-party Justice Committee said a recurring theme in its inquiry was that victim support services already faced unmanageable referral levels and caseloads.

"We caution that the bill risks raising victims' awareness of their rights only to leave them unable to access them due to the relevant services already working at full capacity," it said.

Labour is calling for the government to make a number of changes to the planned law, including ensuring rape survivors get free legal advice to help reduce the number dropping out of court action.

It also wants the Victims' Commissioner to have more powers to hold the government to account, including by producing an annual report to parliament, and for victims of anti-social behaviour to be covered by the Victims' Code.

The Ministry of Justice told us it commended the bravery of Katie's family and friends in sharing her story.

In a statement, a spokesman said: "Through our new Victims and Prisoners Bill we are improving support for victims at every stage, setting out a clear expectation of the support and information victims should receive from the police and courts.

"This is on top of our commitment to quadrupling funding for victim support services. Last year we awarded £4.5m to charities to fund vital support specifically for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to help ensure victims of this horrific crime get the help they need."