The hospital never informed Diana of its internal investigation’s outcome. Speaking to openDemocracy, Diana raised concerns about how the nurses had spoken about her in their evidence. “One implied I had made the claim of sexual assault because I was unhappy I had to wait too long for the procedure,” she said. “I wasn’t unhappy at all.”
The nurse also wrote how Diana seemed “strange”, disregarding how she was nervous and feeling ill. She does not see why the nurse’s perception of her personality should have any bearing on her allegation of sexual assault.
Diana is still awaiting the results of the GMC investigation, which has been delayed for over a year due to the need to wait for the police to conclude their inquiries and her complaint.
“I have had to wait a year, and I have to go over it again,” she said. ‘The assault happened in August 2024! Going over it again is triggering, it is retraumatising, I felt like I had moved on and now I had to go back into it.”
Diana also told openDemocracy of her worries that sexual assault victims are being priced out of justice. Despite a solicitor advising her that she has a strong case to take legal action against Hampshire police, Diana does not qualify for legal aid.
“It seems to me the whole criminal justice system is rigged against victims and supports only those who can afford it,” she said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s clear sexual assault has effectively been decriminalised in the UK. I would never report a sexual assault to the police again.”
In a statement, Hampshire police said: “It takes immense courage for anyone to report they have been a victim of a sexual offence, and we would always expect our officers to show empathy and compassion during an investigation.”
Speaking about Diana’s case, the force said: “When this report was made, a full interview was conducted with the victim to establish the nature of the allegations, and to identify lines of enquiry. This resulted in the obtaining of statements from witnesses, including members of staff, and the securing of other evidence in order to determine how to proceed.
“Unfortunately, having reviewed the evidence available, we were not able to present a case which met the required evidential threshold and therefore had to close the case, with no further action taken.
“This decision was reviewed as part of a subsequent complaint, where it was found the investigation was of the required standard.
“In this case, we do accept that we could have done more to ensure the victim fully understood why we were unable to submit the case to the Crown Prosecution Service. We have ensured that those involved in the investigation have been provided with feedback to ensure this learning informs our future practice and enhances the support we provide to victims of crime.”
In response to our findings, chief constable Sarah Crew, the lead for adult rape and sex offences at the National Police Chief’s Council, referred to reforms introduced as part of Operation Soteria, a programme created in 2021 to transform the way police investigate rape and sexual violence.
“Operation Soteria’s core principles,” she said “are victim-centred, suspect-focused and context-led, which means investigations are no longer driven by judgements about a victim’s credibility. Instead, officers focus on scrutinising a suspect’s behaviour and the wider context of the offence, actively seeking corroborating evidence such as digital material, patterns of behaviour, witness accounts and scene evidence wherever possible.”
Crew added reforms include “the introduction of robust No Further Action Scrutiny Panels, where senior officers and independent partners review rape investigations to ensure decisions are lawful, proportionate and free from bias. These reviews exist to challenge practice, identify learning and strengthen future investigations, particularly in cases where victims have supported prosecution but evidential difficulties remain.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Sexual violence of any type is a despicable crime, and we recognise the unimaginable harm it causes to survivors as well as the whole of society. We are committed to ensuring that victims of sexual violence receive the support they deserve and perpetrators are brought to justice.
“Our upcoming violence against women and girls strategy will support our mission to halve it within a decade. Decisions to take no further action are operational ones taken by the police.”
*Names have been changed
