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As part of #16DaysofActivism2019 I& #39;m going to post some survivor perspectives of the impact of bail use in their rape cases in their own words.
CW: The quotes are powerful & direct.
CW: The quotes are powerful & direct.
Bail as validation of credibility:
‘[Granting bail] forms part of that evidence doesn’t it, where people are making judgements about whether or not it’s a lie, which they’re assuming… most family and friends are assuming it’s a lie or a false allegation’
‘[Granting bail] forms part of that evidence doesn’t it, where people are making judgements about whether or not it’s a lie, which they’re assuming… most family and friends are assuming it’s a lie or a false allegation’
Bail as part of re-establishing power & control:
"He wouldn’t have liked [being on bail] because he really thinks he’s something and… at least that’s some sort of (sighs) … recompense… torture for him… humiliation. A bit of public humiliation for him, he humiliated me"
"He wouldn’t have liked [being on bail] because he really thinks he’s something and… at least that’s some sort of (sighs) … recompense… torture for him… humiliation. A bit of public humiliation for him, he humiliated me"
Bail as a reflection of how seriously the police took the allegation:
"I said to the police… he also had his own business... ‘what about the fact that he’s going to people’s houses & there’s possibly children there?’ They said, ’until he’s found guilty we can’t do anything’."
"I said to the police… he also had his own business... ‘what about the fact that he’s going to people’s houses & there’s possibly children there?’ They said, ’until he’s found guilty we can’t do anything’."
Failure of bail as part of a survivor& #39;s entitlement to safety & dignity:
"On my mum’s death bed… for three days my mum was dying, she was unconscious and …he was allowed to be in the same room as me! I was 15… how was that fair?! What if he’d done something then?"
"On my mum’s death bed… for three days my mum was dying, she was unconscious and …he was allowed to be in the same room as me! I was 15… how was that fair?! What if he’d done something then?"
The safety gap after reporting & before arrest & bail:
"I was thinking, they’re gonna come after me. So… I said to them well what… what can we do… before they were arrested? … and … you know, they said we can’t do anything until they’ve been arrested and put on bail."
"I was thinking, they’re gonna come after me. So… I said to them well what… what can we do… before they were arrested? … and … you know, they said we can’t do anything until they’ve been arrested and put on bail."
Poor decisions on bail conditions allowing rape suspects to continue to terrorize survivors with the tacit permission of the authorities:
"He moved within 200 feet of my house. He could see my house from his house because the bail conditions were on him."
"He moved within 200 feet of my house. He could see my house from his house because the bail conditions were on him."
Impact of conditional bail as a formal legal sanction for suspects of serious sexual offences on survivors own freedom:
"It was an abuse in itself… for him to see me. He could see me coming and going, he could see who was at my house, he could see whether I was there or not…
"It was an abuse in itself… for him to see me. He could see me coming and going, he could see who was at my house, he could see whether I was there or not…
"It really terrified me, it really upset me… You don’t easily come down from that either. It takes ages… for that… that… [sighs]. So yeah, it was horrific, that was horrific, that was horrific and I don’t understand how he was allowed to do it."
"They could easily have said to me, ‘what would help you?’ I was horrified, I was distressed, I was really emotional, I was really upset, very upset and I knew that [the police] set the bail conditions... They could have done… they could have done something for me"
Impact on survivors of no consequences for breaches of bail conditions:
"What’s the point?... it takes your voice away from you, it makes you feel so… disempowered and so helpless you think… what’s the point?
"What’s the point?... it takes your voice away from you, it makes you feel so… disempowered and so helpless you think… what’s the point?
If they’re [police] not gonna support me and they’re not gonna do anything about [breach of bail conditions], what’s the point of this whole court case? If they’re not gonna protect me… who else is going to?"
I feel that& #39;s enough for today. I& #39;ll do more tomorrow.
If you& #39;re interested, the full study is here https://cwasu.org/a-study-of-use-of-bail-in-rape-cases/
https://cwasu.org/a-study-o... href="https://twitter.com/theipaper">@theipaper published an article here https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/how-the-bail-system-fails-victims-of-sexual-assault-274703
If">https://inews.co.uk/opinion/c... you need support, please contact @RapeCrisisEandW https://rapecrisis.org.uk/ ">https://rapecrisis.org.uk/">...
If you& #39;re interested, the full study is here https://cwasu.org/a-study-of-use-of-bail-in-rape-cases/
If">https://inews.co.uk/opinion/c... you need support, please contact @RapeCrisisEandW https://rapecrisis.org.uk/ ">https://rapecrisis.org.uk/">...
