Sexual offence on the increase Pic: Keith Allison

Reported cases of rape in Lewisham and Hackney have risen in the last 12 months, statistics revealed by the Metropolitan Police show.

Lewisham has seen a 10.7 per cent rise and Hackney a 10.4 per cent rise in rape cases reported to the police from October 2012 to October 2013. Other sexual offences in Hackney have risen by 6.3% but have declined by 4.2% in Lewisham.

The Met could not confirm the reason for the increase in reported rape cases; however, the news offers a disturbing picture of sexual violence in the two boroughs.

Yvonne Traynor, CEO of the Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre, which mainly works in south-east London, said: “It is difficult to know whether there has been an increase in rapes or whether there has been an increase in reporting rape. In London there has always been a high incidence of rape and our centre is always extremely busy dealing with cases all over south London.”

Traynor added: “Over the whole of the Metropolitan Police area we have seen a 30 per cent increase in women reporting cases of rape. I hope that survivors are more confident reporting to the police who have specialist units dealing entirely with sexual offences but if survivors are unsure about reporting they can always contact our centre for advice, information and support to recover.”

Jodie Woodward, head of operations for east London charity Nia Ending Violence, said: “The rise in reported cases doesn’t mean there is a rise in rape cases. We know that around 80-85 per cent of rapes go unreported. We find a lot of women are reluctant report because they fear being judged or, in most instances, the rape is perpetrated by someone they know.”

However, Woodward added: “More and more women are coming forward to report rapes, specialist sexual violence teams have made a massive improvement on reporting rapes and, it could be, the Jimmy Savile case and subsequent Operation Yewtree has given women confidence to come forward.”

The rise coincides with British Transport Police conducting a week-long operation to tackle sexual offences on the railways in London.

‘Operation Centurion’ was launched on Monday and supports the Association of Chief Police Officers’ (ACPO) nation-wide initiative to tackle sexual offences.

The campaign runs from December 2-6 and involves police running targeted campaigns focusing on communicating their procedure for dealing with rape and sexual offences, supporting victims and the judicial process for this type of crime.

National reporting of sexual offences is up 9 per cent this year; the largest increase since current recording standards began.

According to the Association of Chief Police Officers, 3,692 rape prosecutions were reported nationwide in 2012/13 with 63.2 per cent of these cases resulting in convictions, a 5.5 per cent increase from 2008/9.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: “The conviction rate is at an all-time high and this is down to the hard work of police, prosecutors and other agencies working together to develop victim focused approaches and take cases through the courts. But, despite the bravery and tenacity of the victims who do go through the process, a third of rape prosecutions still don’t end in a conviction.”

Hewitt added: “The last six years have seen significant improvements in the police response to sexual offences; specialist training of officers, the introduction of early evidence kits, greater access to sexual assault referral centres, and working closely with support groups.”

Woodward agrees: “There has been a major improvement in police performance in terms of how rape victims of sexual violence teams. However, the majority of rapes are not reported as society blames the victims if you look at the media, women are judged for what they wear or what they have been drinking. Low conviction rates also act as a deterrent in women reporting rape. Unfortunately the level of violence against women is steady and stable.”

The data from the met shows that reported rape offences in Tower Hamlets has decreased by 0.8 per cent and Croydon has seen a decrease of 6.8 per cent, offering some positive news. However, the number of other sexual offences reported in Croydon has risen by 4.6% and 1.9% in Tower Hamlets in the last 12 months.

To report a sexual offence or rape to the police, call 101 or 999 in an emergency.