Rape payouts cut for drunk victims

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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 Guardian newspaper

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 admitted its compensation scheme was "originally applied wrongly" but the mistake was corrected at review and the award was paid in full.

However, Sandra McNeill, of the Campaign to End Rape, called for an inquiry. Ms McNeill said that the Government should examine past cases of rape to see if "old and silly prejudices" have affected final decisions.

A spokesman for the CICA said: "CICA's policy is not to make a reduction on a claim for compensation following rape on the basis of alcohol consumption. The scheme was originally applied wrongly in this case, but this was corrected at review and the award was paid in full."