Herts Rape Crisis unfortunately "not surprised" by David Carrick's actions
The former Met Police officer pled guilty to a string of sex offences last week
Last updated 23rd Jan 2023
A rape crisis centre in Hertfordshire says they're horrified but not surprised by the actions of former Met Police officer David Carrick.
Who is David Carrick?
Last week, Carrick - from Stevenage - pled guilty to a string of sex offences against women - including 24 counts of rape.
The 48-year-old was part of the Metropolitan Force, based with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
The charges related to 12 women between 2003 and 2020.
Since then, Carrick has been sacked from the force for gross misconduct and the Met has launched a review into how Carrick was able to carry on in his post for so long.
Herts Rape Crisis
Anne is from Herts Rape Crisis, a helpline and counselling service for women over 18 who are living in Hertfordshire and have experienced rape or sexual violence.
According to Anne, the news regarding David Carrick is unfortunately not surpsing.
"A huge amount of sexual violence goes undetected because survivors are often too traumatized or scared of the perpetrator to tell close family and friends, let alone the police.
"And because reporting is an ordeal in itself", said Anne.
But there are places people can turn if they're in need of help.
"Wherever you you live in in the country, there are services available. They are telephone helplines, and whilst we we run our helpline for Hertfordshire, there are websites like Rape Crisis.
"SurvivorsUK run a helpline specifically for men too."
Survivors are also told they're allowed to share as much or as little at they wish.
What needs to change?
According to Anne, police need to learn how to recognise the trauma involved and treat the survivor appropriately, as well as update the legal system to make things easier for them.
As well as cultural changes, Anne has said organisations like Herts Rape Crisis need more support.
"Everyone's got waiting lists and there's definitely not enough funding or services to meet the demand.
"So government definitely needs to make it a bigger priority and ideally make this a statutory provision, not something that tiny charities have to fight each other for in order to survive."
"It's in wider society too"
Whilst the focus has recently been on the culture of policing, Anne has said it's a wider problem.
"It's in wider society too. It's in this country and in the world.
"You know, society is so tolerant and mid continually minimizes sexism, misogyny and often it's actually blatant encouragement", she concluded.