Rape victims among those to be asked to hand phones to police

[Bobby Shaw]

Victims of crimes, including those alleging rape, are to be asked to hand their phones over to police - or risk prosecutions not going ahead.

Consent forms asking for permission to access information including emails, messages and photographs have been rolled out in England and Wales.

It comes after a number of rape and serious sexual assault cases collapsed when crucial evidence emerged.

Victim Support said the move could stop victims coming forward.

But police and prosecutors say the forms can plug a gap in the law which says complainants and witnesses cannot be forced to disclose relevant content from phones, laptops, tablets or smart watches.

Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill said such digital information would only be looked at where it forms a "reasonable" line of inquiry, with material going before a court only if it meets stringent rules.

When could the police ask for your phone?

The digital consent forms can be used in any criminal investigations - but are most likely to be used in rape and sexual assault cases, where complainants often know the suspect, and there may be crucial evidence in their communication.

The forms state that victims will be given the chance to explain why they don't want to give consent for police to access their data.

But they are also told it they refuse permission "then it may not be possible for the investigation or prosecution to continue".

'My phone was taken for two years'

One woman, who wants to remain anonymous, says she was raped in April 2016 by someone she knew and reported it two months later.

"I was willing to give the police everything they needed. I'd texted people that night about the incident. The police said they wanted to extract data from my phone.

"I was required to hand in my phone and it was only returned to me after repeated requests after two years.

"When I got my phone back, I saw that it had not even been turned on in two years.

"I might lodge a complaint at some point, but I just felt everything was so invasive at the time.

"They didn't even take the phone off the perpetrator. I gave his name and address. He's not had to face any consequences."

'I didn't hand over my phone'

Another woman, Leah, who was a university student from London, was sexually assaulted on campus last summer.

"I didn't have the courage to report it straight away - but when I saw him again on campus, I had to.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48086244

[New England]

rape is a violent act just below homicide and dismemberment. it's about as bad as it gets. and it hits home for women particularly in a manner that we don't understand as dudes who can protect ourselves and who can't get pregnant.


that said, there's a burden of proof and in the US it's "reasonable doubt." until it's proven beyond reasonable doubt that you're not innocent, you're innocent. there's nothing about rape that changes that. elements that might cast doubt on whether or not a rape even occurred or if person a committed it will require looking into the context of the relationship, the night or day in question, etc.

if you leave a bar with a dude and you're all over him and you come to a police station without a scratch it's going to be tough to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you were raped unless you present some other evidence to back you up. it's reasonable to doubt you in that situation, the evidence aside from the accusation mimics a lot of sexual encounters. people hit it off at a bar, go home together, and have sex.

hearing that really hurts a lot of women and they think it is wrong [or "victim blaming"] to even look into it. you need to look at all of the evidence and the circumstances and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a rape occurred and that dude X committed it.

women and men are fundamentally different. we just are. our biology has a dramatic affect on how we perceive phenomenon, who we identify with, etc.