Who am I?

For legal reasons I’m calling myself ‘Emma’, which isn’t my real name. I’m in my 40s and I live in London.

In early 2019, at the end of an abusive and controlling relationship, my husband raped me. After I found the courage to leave him I contacted the Metropolitan Police in June 2021. I told them about the rape and the other ways he had abused me.

I told the police that my husband had intercourse with me after I said I didn’t want sex anymore.  I said I had told him what was happening felt like rape, but that he had carried on regardless.  Despite this they told me that what I had alleged wasn’t rape and they closed the investigation.  They did this without interviewing my husband, without speaking with witnesses and without looking at evidence on my phone.

I couldn’t believe the police wouldn’t investigate what I had told them. I made a complaint to the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards but they turned me down as well. So now I don’t have any options left but to take them to court.

What’s the case?

The Human Rights Act puts a duty on the police to ‘promptly and effectively’ investigate reports of rape. I want to ask the High Court to order to police to comply this duty and investigate my report of rape. All I want is an investigation. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.

The lawyers for Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley have said that they will come after me for his legal costs if I lose in court. I know I have a strong case but I can’t risk having to pay the Met tens of thousands of pound if I lose. That’s why I’m having to crowdfund, to protect myself against that risk.

What’s at stake?

I want the Met police to investigate my report of rape, but I also want them to understand that they can’t treat women like this. They can’t say a woman hasn’t made a complaint of rape after she tells them a man had sex with her when he should have known she wasn’t consenting. That is the definition of rape.

I have tried so many ways to get the police to investigate. I’ve spoken with officers on the phone, I’ve sent emails, I’ve made a complaint and I’ve instructed lawyers. At every turn the Met has doubled-down and refused to carry out a meaningful investigation into my report of rape. This legal case is now my only chance for justice. I need the Met to listen to me and to follow the law. If that means I have to go to the High Court then that’s what I’ll do.

If the Met can’t be relied upon to take basic investigative steps when they receive a crystal clear allegation of rape then how can women trust them? If we want a police force we can trust then we need to stand up for our rights.

On 15 December 2022 The Guardian reported that a Home Office review had identified “persistent failings in the criminal justice system, including a failure to track repeat suspects, “explicit victim-blaming” and botched investigations.” The review found that allegations of rape by current or former partners were associated with particularly low charging rates, with only 1.2% of such complaints made to one force resulting in charges. This just isn’t good enough.

How much do I need to raise?

I need to raise £14,000 to protect me against the risk of having to pay the Met’s legal costs if I lose my case at trial. I don’t think this will happen but I can’t take the risk, and so I can’t file my court papers without having protection. If I lose at trial then the Met’s legal costs, which they have repeatedly threatened to pursue me for, would ruin me.

I feel really bad asking people for help just after Christmas and during a cost of living crisis but the Met haven’t left me with any other options. The deadline for issuing my case at court is coming up and I either have to go for it or accept that my rape will never be properly investigated.

How can you help?

Please share this campaign as widely as possible on your social media accounts, and if you can please consider donating. No amount is too small. Thank you for your support and for helping to get justice to me and future victims.