UK rape victims treated like suspects: Report
A new report shows police and courts in Britain are demanding rape victims to either hand over their very personal information on their phones or face their legal case against the perpetrators dropped.
The Sky News said in a Monday report that according to new laws and regulations, police were forcing complainants of rape crime to hand over their mobile phones so that prosecutors could determine the allegations against the perpetrators are genuine.
Alleged rape victims are supposed to fill in forms demanding them to hand over their mobile phones and give permission to police to have access to messages, photographs, emails and social media accounts.
Prosecutors say the forms, which have been introduced across 43 police forces in England and Wales, are meant to expose fake rape claims and help the defendants that might have wrongly been accused of rape or sexual assaults.
However, victims say the new laws are a clear violation of their legal rights, insisting that they could breach their privacy forever.
"My phone documents many of the most personal moments in my life and the thought of strangers combing through it, to try to use it against me, makes me feel like I'm being violated once again,” said a woman referred to as "Olivia", who recently reported rape to police.
"The data on my phone stretches back seven years and the police want to download it and keep it on file for a century,” she said.
Privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch said forcing the complainants to disclose their information was similar to a “digital strip search” and clearly meant that rape victims were being treated like “suspects”.
Alleged rape victims have said they would launch a legal battle to have the consent forms removed. They insist the personal information on their phones could allow police to investigate other criminal offenses.
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