Join the campaign by Rape Crisis England and Wales, Centre for Women’s Justice, End Violence Against Women Coalition, Imkaan and Rights of Women.
Please help us protect survivors from this harmful practice by taking action today.
Did you know that right now, when someone reports being raped, past disclosures of sexual violence – no matter how unrelated – can be used against them in court?
Many women experience multiple incidents of sexual violence over their lifetime, but some survivors have had this used against them as evidence of their supposed ‘bad character’.
That’s why, Rape Crisis England and Wales alongside Centre for Women’s Justice, End Violence Against Women Coalition, Imkaan, and Rights of Women have launched the #BadExperiencesNotBadCharacter campaign.
We’re calling on the government to amend the law around ‘victim bad character’ evidence to ensure that judges properly and consistently apply it and prevent survivors from being questioned about irrelevant previous disclosures of sexual violence.
🖊️ Write to your MP using our easy-to-use tool and help us to change the law. Survivors deserve justice, not judgement!
Why is this a problem?
- Currently, a survivor could be questioned in front of a jury about a previous experience of abuse, even if it happened years earlier and was committed by a different perpetrator.
- In some cases, defence lawyers use this to argue the survivor is lying, claiming that having reported abuse before makes them less credible.
- Even when there is no basis to believe a previous disclosure was false, judges may allow such questioning. Cross-examination often happens unexpectedly—sometimes even when the survivor is already giving evidence. The impact can be devastating.
Survivors tell us they feel disbelieved, blamed and retraumatised, all while they’re simply trying to seek justice.
