Sexual abuse victims in Merseyside not coming forward amid fears they'll be blamed instead
It's after our exclusive survey found one in three women here have received unwanted attention from a stranger
There are concerns victims of sexual abuse across Merseyside aren't coming forward over fears they'll be blamed instead.
It's after our exclusive survey found one in three women here have received unwanted attention from a stranger, six months on from the murder of Sarah Everard.
Helen Leach works for RASA, who support people who've suffered abuse, she says victim shaming destroys confidence :
"You hear them every day. I hear them from people I wouldn't expect to hear them from.
"We've all got a responsibility to challenge these attitudes that can prevent people from reporting what they've experienced.
"Often we focus on what the victim was doing and we saw that in Sarah's case too; why was she walking on her own at night? That just takes the focus away from the perpertartor".
We've been putting the findings of our 'I Walk With Women' survey to the Justice Secretary.
Robert Buckland says our campaign highlights why action is needed :
"Ministers are very closely involved in making sure we lose no time in enhancing how we tackle abuse and violence against women and girls.
"We are working to increase police numbers to make sure women and men who suffer are dealt with in a humane and supportve way".