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'My rape payment was cut because I was drunk'
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor12 Aug 2008
A woman who was raped in the West End had her compensation payment cut because she was drunk.
She said today the decision was like saying: "It's my fault I was raped."
The woman, a beauty therapist who believes her drink was spiked, was 25 when she was attacked five years ago after a night out.
She said the ruling by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority was a "slap in the face", adding: "It was just so cruel and unthinking and so wrong because there is nothing you can do to prevent yourself being raped.
"It was like going back to the Seventies, saying, 'She was asking for it'. It is not illegal to go out and have a drink. It is illegal to rape somebody." The standard-award of £11,000 was reduced by 25 per cent in her case to £8,250.
A letter from the CICA told her that "excessive" drinking had been a contributing factor.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, 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'. "
Today the organisation admitted it had made a major mistake and said it had cut payouts for 14 other rape victims on the same grounds. It has issued a statement acknowledging it should not have happened in any case and today confirmed that it is not its policy to reduce compensation for rape victims because of alcohol consumption.
A CICA spokesman said: "We have just completed a review of our staff instructions, operating procedures and structure to ensure greater consistency in decision-making."
It is understood that at the centre of the confusion is a clause that says awards in all types of cases can be reduced if alcohol consumption "gave rise to the injury".
Campaigners are calling for the clause to be scrapped. The woman has now won the full £11,000 after launching an appeal. Her solicitor successfully argued that regarding alcohol consumption as a contributing factor in rape cases was unfair because it implied the victim had been responsible.
The woman, whose attacker has never been caught, also complained to the Met about the way her case was investigated. As a result, she received an official apology and two officers were disciplined.
Sandra McNeill, of the Campaign to End Rape, called for an inquiry into the cases dealt with by the CICA, saying: "No woman is responsible for being raped. A man knows what he is doing and it is never the woman's fault."
Reader views (18)
i was stabbed and raped by someone i thought i trusted kept prisoner for 24 hours by a so called friend that was after he stabbed me i went through a terrible ordeal, my children didnt know where i was or anything, i think as a family we should respected a lot more by the CICA ,
- PAULA, nottingham, 12/04/2011 06:58
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Someone who has been raped is the victim, this means he or she did not commited a crime and is not guilty.
When the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) cut the rape payment of the victime because of her drunk condition, they insinuate that she’s guilty and she even gets blamed for it. Why should the victim been blamed by the CICA for being raped.
On my opinion it’s unjustified and even humiliated towards the victime, she didn’t ask for it, did she?! By the way, isn’t the duty of the vice squad to punish attackers instead of blame victims who are marked for life? And why, because she drunk a bit to much? Alcohol consumption cannot be a contributing factor.
You could say that “exessive” drinking hasn’t got a positive influence but it doesn’t give somebody the permission to rape someone else. Raping someone is always illegal without exceptions!
- D'Hondt E., 6wwa1, Zwijndrecht, Belgium, 14/09/2008 14:18
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Actually, logically, the government shouldn't be responsible for awarding compensation to someone who has been a victim of a crime. Based on the fact that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority exists, I think it is obvious that there are a lot of people whose brains are out of gear.
- Dan, Oxford, PA, USA, 14/09/2008 13:18
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So, the officials that made theses illegal deductions get their wages deducted by 25% right? ....
- Rockdad50, Michigan, U.S.A., 14/09/2008 13:18
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Drunkenness should not mitigate the fact that she was raped. What a terrible decision.
That said...One should always stay in control. If you plan on tying one on, bring some friends along and look out for each other. I wish her the best.
- Koz, Fort Worth, Texas USA, 14/09/2008 13:18
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So logically rapists who had been drinking should have reduced penalties, because they were less in control of their actions. Or what? Has anybody got their brain in gear?
- Mdj, Leyton, London, 14/09/2008 13:18
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There is not a woman in the world who asks for being raped. It is a trauma being used for the pleasure of a man who can't control himself. Being drunk has nothing to do with the fact that the woman was being raped, it just made it easier for the man. Giving the woman money as a compensation for the act is a bit foolish. I believe it is better to support the woman through the trauma instead of giving some money and leaving her on her own dealing with this serious injury.
- Vermorgen Vanessa,6hwb, Sint-Niklaas,Belgium, 14/09/2008 13:18
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First, I want to say that there are no women who asked for being raped. But still there are thousands of women who get raped every day. I don't understand why some men do that, it is also not good for there own reputation. I don't think that money can heal the situation, but I think that the victims should have mental help.
- Hannelore Van Eynde 6hwb, Sint-Nicolas Belgium, 14/09/2008 13:18
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Well, I think is isn't right to to cut someone payout because she was drunk, but it's a fact that you're an easy victim when you are drunk.
But it is still the guy who did it his fault.
I also think that the person responsible should pay the compensation and not the government.
- Davy Staes 6hwb, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, 14/09/2008 13:18
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It's never a person' s fault to be raped. Even if the victim was drunk! I don't think that the victim will be cured are satisfied by giving her money. Because I don't think money heels wounds. I think it's terrible that there are still people who are able to rape someone. They ruin people's lives, just for their own pleasure. It's disgusting, I think. No one has the right to commit this kind of crimes. Maybe one positive thing is that there is an organisation which is working on the rape problem. So maybe there's still hope for this people.
- Barbara De Rechter 6hwb, Belgium Sint-Niklaas, 14/09/2008 13:18
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No woman in this world is asking to be raped. So I think it's not the woman's fault.
I don't think it's a good idea to give money as a compensation for a rape victim. Money doesn't heal the wounds. They should better invest more money in psychological therapies, then just give money 'to get over it'.
- Naomi De Spaey 6hwb, Belgium, Sint-Niklaas, 14/09/2008 13:18
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It's not because the woman was drunk, that she asked to be raped. She's not responsible for what happened. It's only the rapist's fault. At my opinion she can do whatever she wants, but getting raped is something very bad. So i think it's maybe better to reduce the money for the victim and use the other money for helping the victims in general, to get over this very sad experience. I wish her the best.
- Stefan S. 6hwb, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, 14/09/2008 13:18
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I think this is really ridiculous. The woman being drunk has nothing to do with the fact that she got raped. I believe that she would have been raped anyway if she wasn't drunk. The only difference their might have been between her being drunk and her being sober is that she might have been an easier victim for the rapist.
No women asks to be raped, so the CICA had no right at all to even consider blaming her partly.
- Julie Dekkers, 6hwb, Beveren, Belgium, 14/09/2008 13:18
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My opinion about this article is that first of all it isn't The woman's fault and that the solution just isn't good. They just have to spend more money for the search of the rapist. In stead of just giving money to the woman, who is raped. Although it is a good gesture from the two officers.
- Tobiasvanbouchaute6hwb, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, 14/09/2008 13:18
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I think it’s ok to pay out the victims of a rape crime. But in the first place the police have to find the criminal who did the crime. It’s his fault that the victim has psychological problems or traumas caused by the incident. So that’s why I think the criminals have to pay out a fine in stat of the CICA. If they don’t find the criminal the CICA can pay out. But they have to handle every case at the same way. It’s not that you have drank a little bit to much alcohol that it’s your fault that you were raped. The responsibility lays always with the man or woman who committed the crime.
- Nick Truyman 6hwb, Steendorp, Belgium, 14/09/2008 13:18
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Wait a minute here...so do all rape victims get compensation from the government? Not to sound callous but why does your government pay those who are victims of crimes and not the criminals? Is this some way of compensating certain women when their aggressors are not caught? Is this limited to rape? Doesn't seem right to me.
- Jake, Wisconsin, USA, 14/09/2008 13:18
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If alcohol impairs the culpability of one sex it must surly impair the culpability of the other as well.
Just take responsibility for your actions what ever your gender. Placing more responsibility on one gender than the other is sex discrimination.
- K, Brisbane, 14/09/2008 13:18
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She shouldn't have had her compensation cut. That would be like telling her to take some sort of responsibility for her actions. We can't have that. People should be able to get obnoxiously drunk and not have to worry about the consequences. Just remember, whatever happens to you that is good is due to your wonderfulness. Whatever happens to you that is bad is someone else's fault.
- Nhel, Lawton, USA, 14/09/2008 13:18
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