In the news today, police admit that they are failing rape victims.
They say this is due to the proliferation of rape myths - in other words that women who don't act as they would expect after having been raped are lying - police don't believe rape victims and their investigation of rapes is often substandard.
How a rape case is dealt with in the early stages can greatly effect the outcome, and attitudes like this damage womens possibilities of gaining justice over an attacker.
It is about time police admitted that low rape conviction rates are not just due to jury predjudice and inadequate court processes, it permeates all the way through the justice system, back to the first point of contact - the police.
It goes to show just how far the hatred and mistrust of women runs in society, it's no wonder so many women don't report rape for fear they won't be believed.
At least it has been acknowledged in some small form which helps bring to the fore the issues which affect rape victims. But will the police do something about it? How can they change the attitudes of millions of police officers? This is the underlying issue - public opinion and attitude towards women as constructed by the patriarchal society we are trapped in.
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