Plea for rape survivors to have more protection in court
"I felt like I was actually being abused all over again"
Last updated 6th Mar 2023
There's a plea for rape survivors to be given stronger protections when taking their abusers to court.
It comes from a Scottish woman, who says she felt like she was being "abused all over again" facing harsh questioning from the defence advocate.
But she knows she isn't the only one.
Ellie Wilson, who is originally from Edinburgh but lives in Glasgow, saw her rapist jailed for his attacks on her.
But after the trial she felt the cross examination she'd faced when giving evidence had been traumatic.
Ellie tells us she feels questioning of victims can go too far and not only be harmful to the case but "it's also bad for the person that's having to endure, really awful questioning and being made to feel like, frankly, they're the person on trial."
Detailing her experience Ellie says: " He put it to me that I was lying, and that none of that happened, and I understand that he's allowed to do that, and it's his job.
"But he went beyond that, and I was accused of having narcissistic personality disorder.
"And I was told repeatedly how the person who raped me actually loved me so much. And to hear that is so, so, so soul destroying when abuse in itself is really, really difficult to come to terms with."
Ultimately Ellie and other campaigners and support organisations feel the situation is unfair, but could also put off other survivors from coming forward and reporting crimes.
Sandy Brindley is the Chief Executive of Rape Crisis Scotland.
She tells us: "Too often rape survivors tell us that they can feel completely unprotected in court when they're giving evidence.
"There have been some improvements in the approach to cross examination within advocates and defence lawyers, but I do think much more needs to be done
"to make sure that while evidence is tested and should be tested, nobody who's giving evidence in a rape trial should feel that they've been bullied, harassed or belittled.
"I do think fundamentally, it's for judges to make sure that witnesses complainers and rape cases and sexual assault cases are treated with dignity and at the system doesn't continue to reach traumatise to the extent that it does just now."
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