Rape payouts cut for drunk victims

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Rape victims can be given smaller payouts under a clause that says awards in all types of cases can be reduced if alcohol consumption "gave rise to the injury", according to The Guardian.

In the past year 14 rape victims - 1% of rape-related applications - were told they would receive lower levels of compensation due to alcohol consumption, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) told the paper.

One woman, who believes she was raped four years ago after having her drink spiked, successfully overturned a decision by the CICA to award her less money because she had been drinking "excessively".

She told The Guardian that being told the standard award of £11,000 would be reduced by 25% in her case, to £8,250 "felt like a slap in the face".

She received a letter from the CICA which stated: "The evidence that we have shows that your excessive consumption of alcohol was a contributing factor in the incident."

The woman said: "When I read the CICA letter I just had no words; I could not take it in. It felt like I was being punished for having the audacity to step up and say 'I don't think this should have happened to me'. It was like going back to the '70s, saying 'she was asking for it'. How else could you read the letter but as saying it's my fault I was raped?"

The CICA told the paper a mistake had been made in this particular case and said its policy was not to reduce awards to rape victims on account of alcohol consumption.

Commenting on the report, justice minister Bridget Prentice said: "It is not our policy to reduce the level of award to a victim of rape due to alcohol consumption.

"This stance supports our view that a victim of rape is not in any way culpable due to alcohol consumption. It is never an individual's fault if he/she gets raped; regardless of how much he/she has drunk."