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Allegations of Sexual
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A woman who was named in the House
of Lords as "a serial and repeated liar" after a man found guilty
of raping her had his conviction overturned says being outed in parliament
was a setback for all victims of sexual assault. The woman, who has asked not to be
identified despite her name now being in the public domain, says she had no
idea that the Labour peer Lord Campbell-Savours had named her on Thursday
until she was told by a journalist. Following the disclosure of her identity
in Hansard - repeated in yesterday's Daily Mail - she has gone into hiding. Lord Campbell-Savours used
parliamentary privilege to name the woman during a debate on rape
legislation. He suggested that women who make false allegations of rape
should be named and prosecuted for perjury. It is believed to be the first
time that the identity of a woman who claims to be the victim of a sexual
offence has been revealed in parliament. Warren Blackwell, 36, from
Daventry, Northamptonshire, spent more than three years in jail for a sex
attack before his conviction was quashed by the court of appeal last month.
The court ruled that Mr Blackwell's conviction was unsafe in the light of new
evidence that the complainant had made "strikingly similar
allegations" of other sex attacks and had the ability to lie. Some newspapers have reported that
she made previous allegations of sexual and physical assault. She told the
Guardian yesterday that, including the case of Mr Blackwell, there had been
three such instances. The first relates to claims that she was sexually
abused by her father, who is now dead, the second to a boyfriend she had as a
teenager. She says the third complaint was initiated by her mother, who
contacted police. "I don't go around falsely
accusing men of raping me," she said. Although Mr Blackwell's conviction
has been overturned, she retains her right to anonymity because she has not
been convicted of perverting the course of justice, which would have
established that the sexual assault never took place. She claims she was attacked outside
a village club early on New Year's Day 1999. "I had had a couple of
drinks and went outside to get some air because my eyes felt sore. I was
knocked to the ground and drifted in and out of consciousness. The attack was
so intense I felt as if I was going to die. When I went to court I told the
truth because I had no reason to lie. I was devastated when the conviction
was quashed last month and hid at home with the curtains drawn for two weeks.
"It was a complete shock when
I found out I'd been named in parliament. My whole world fell apart. Why
can't they leave me alone? This man was convicted on evidence from witnesses
in court, not only on my evidence. "Why did Lord Campbell
Savours decide to name me? He doesn't know me. Has he ever spoken to a rape
victim? What gives him the right to destroy me? My anonymity is supposed to
be protected in law." She says she is concerned not only
about the ramifications for herself but also for other women who might now be
more reluctant to report rape. "I'm just an ordinary person with dreams
which have been shattered by all this. Now that I've been named in parliament
I've become a target." A spokesman for the Criminal Cases
Review Commission said: "Our referral to the court of appeal in this
case was a result of new evidence relating to the key witness in the case and
the issue of whether this offence actually took place. A key factor was also
the non-disclosure of material to the defence." Lisa Longstaff of Women against
Rape said: "We are appalled that Lord Campbell-Savours used
parliamentary privilege in the House of Lords to aggravate the character
assassination of this woman who reported rape. His naming her is extremely
dangerous not only for her but also for all women faced with the decision of
whether to report rape. "The conviction rate for rape
is little over 5%. This is partly due to the low priority given to
investigating rape, and the enormous legal obstacles and sexism women face in
court. Most victims don't report to the police at all. What's happening now
could push the conviction rate down to near zero. "We're seeing a backlash
against everything women have been fighting for for years. The government and
police are encouraging women to report - but when we do we risk being put on
trial ourselves - and now being jailed or hounded in the House of
Lords." |
