Rape victims’ compensation cut over drinking

RAPE victim campaigners in Britain called for an inquiry into “old and silly prejudices” after it emerged some women had their compensation cut because they had been drinking.

In the past year, 14 rape victims — 1% of rape-related applications — were told they would receive lower levels of compensation due to alcohol consumption, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) told the Guardian newspaper.

One woman, who believes she was raped four years ago after having her drink spiked, successfully overturned a CICA decision to award her less money because she had been drinking “excessively”.

She told the paper being informed that the standard award of £11,000 (€14,000) would be reduced by 25% in her case, to £8,250 (€10,520) “felt like a slap in the face”.

“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’.

“It was like going back to the ’70s, saying ‘she was asking for it’,” she said.

The CICA admitted its compensation scheme was “originally applied wrongly” but the mistake was corrected at review and the award was paid in full.

However, Sandra McNeill, of the Campaign to End Rape, called for an inquiry.

She said: “No woman is responsible for being raped. A man knows what he is doing and it is never the woman’s fault.”

McNeill said the Government should examine past cases of rape to see if “old and silly prejudices” have affected final decisions.

“They seem to think that all women should live like middle-class housewives of the 1950s. Nobody lives like that anymore.

“They are simply silly, silly prejudices.”