“The guilty verdicts in this trial represent long overdue justice for the survivors whose lives have been devastated – sending an important signal that survivors’ voices matter, and abusers will be held accountable. At the same time, we know that in this trial not all survivors received a guilty verdict. Every survivor deserves to be believed regardless of whether the charges in their case result in a conviction. Refuge stands alongside all women and girls affected by abuse and we want every survivor to know that support is available.
The sickening crimes committed by Russell Brand demonstrate how perpetrators in the public eye are often able to act with impunity – with devastating consequences for the survivors affected. While these are welcome convictions for some of the brave survivors involved, the lengthy justice process, re-traumatising trial experience and mixed verdicts reflect the unacceptable barriers faced by survivors across the board.
Conviction rates for violence against women and girls (VAWG) offences remain alarmingly low despite the grave scale of this issue. Recent ONS data shows that around one in ten adults (9.6%) experienced domestic abuse in the last year alone – yet we know this figure represents just the tip of the iceberg.
Many women do not report abuse due to an understandable lack of confidence in the justice system. Reporting takes an enormous amount of strength, and yet all too often survivors are met with victim-blaming, dismissal, and damaging accusations of ‘false claims’ – compounding the horrific harms they have experienced.
It is deeply troubling that professionals in the justice system continue to perpetuate harmful myths about abuse. The idea that a delay in reporting, or the fact that a survivor did not physically resist an assault, should undermine their testimony is a horrific form of victim-blaming, rooted in dangerous myths about sexual violence. These narratives misrepresent the real dynamics of abuse, and the complex reasons why survivors may delay coming forward or not fight back, and we cannot allow them to be legitimised under the guise of legal argument. The consequences for survivors are devastating, and the stakes could not be higher.
While today’s verdict represents accountability for a serial perpetrator, whose actions were sickeningly shielded by some of the individuals around him, we know that countless survivors are unable to secure convictions and continue to be failed by the systems meant to protect them. This is why Refuge continues to call for mandatory training for professionals in the criminal justice system, proper resourcing for police and sustainable funding for the specialist services that support survivors.
We need to see higher conviction rates for VAWG, alongside robust preventative measures to ensure that perpetrators, including those in the public eye, cannot continue abusing women with impunity. This means challenging the wider culture of misogyny that enables abuse, protects perpetrators and puts women and girls in danger.”
If you are experiencing any form of domestic abuse, you are not alone. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and we will continue advocating for survivors until abuse is no longer tolerated.
