What happens when a notoriously hard to prove crime, meets a failing criminal justice system and a society still mired in misogyny? This Cable investigation, originally published in August 2023, led us down a road exploring this exact question, revealing the full, complex story of how the Bristol police force deals with sexual violence.
In April 2023, a mother contacted the Cable about her daughter’s upcoming rape case. Our reporter Priyanka Raval then investigated what it takes to prosecute a rapist – from attending the trial in Crown Court, to interviewing the key players behind Operation Bluestone, a groundbreaking new initiative designed to improve the criminal justice system and ensure better outcomes for victims.
The national picture is this. Thanks to MeToo and growing awareness around consent and ‘rape culture’, the numbers of women reporting rape is on the rise. But charging rates and prosecutions are at the lowest levels since records began. In 2020, a joint report by women’s charities stated that outcomes for victims were so poor, rape was effectively being “decriminalised.”
In response to more survivors coming forward but conviction rates remaining incredibly low, a new approach has been devised to turn the tide.
Part one follows the story of one survivor whose rapist stood trial two years after she reported the incident to the police, showing the ordeal of going through the entire legal process as a survivor, and how much of a struggle it can be to prosecute a rapist for their crimes.
Part two reveals a wider story: how Avon and Somerset Police has piloted a new ‘whole story approach’ to investigating and prosecuting sexual violence called Operation Bluestone that is now being expanded to police forces across the country.
Keep the Lights On
Investigative journalism strengthens democracy – it’s a necessity, not a luxury.
The Cable is Bristol’s independent, investigative newsroom. Owned and steered by more than 2,600 members, we produce award-winning journalism that digs deep into what’s happening in Bristol.
We are on a mission to become sustainable – will you help us get there?
Comments
Related content
Listen: The Debrief – what a leaked police report revealed about racial inequalities in stop-and-search
A report leaked to the Cable showed the shocking fact that Black people are 25 times likelier to be strip-searched than white peers. Sean Morrison and Priyanka Raval ask what the findings say about police institutional racism.
Racist and traumatising: inside a Section 60 suspicionless stop and search operation
Officers searched innocent children, disproportionately targeted people of colour and undermined their anti-racism reforms during a 48-hour police operation in February. Their narrative that it was an effective knife-crime deterrent, done with consent, is misleading.
