Foreword
by Heather Binning |Founder of Women’s Rights Network
The Women’s Rights Network began this investigation in response to concerns raised by a
number of members that patients and staff were being sexually assaulted and raped in UK
hospitals.
We were fearful that our requests might expose hundreds of incidents.
We are appalled that they reveal that more than 6,500 rapes and sexual assaults in hospitals
have been reported to police between January 2019 and October 2022. This figure is
shocking, but the true number is likely to be far higher as we know that crimes of this nature
are notoriously under-reported.
As Professor Phoenix points out in her analysis, abysmally low prosecution rates have
prompted some organisations and activists to declare that rape has been virtually
decriminalised in England and Wales.
And why has it been left to The Women’s Rights Network to uncover this scandal? Why are
NHS Trusts, The Care Quality Commission, which regulates both NHS and private hospitals
and police forces not collating accurate crime data and using it to identify the glaring gaps in
safeguarding and policing our investigation has exposed?
Hospitals should be safe spaces, not just for women, but for everyone. We are at our most
vulnerable when we are unwell, we may be frightened, and our family and friends are likely
to be worried about our wellbeing
No one should have the added worry that they or a loved-one is at risk of being raped or
sexually assaulted when they are in hospital. The staff who provide care and support should
also be safe from assault when they are at work.
The volume of sexual assaults and rapes is even more horrific when you consider that this
data covers the pandemic, when much of the country was in lockdown and hospitals were
supposedly even more vigilant about who was coming and going.NHS Trusts, private hospitals, Police Forces, MPs, the Care Quality Commission and other
regulators and other stakeholders can no longer pretend there is not a problem. There is a
huge problem. This report sets out, in horrific detail, the shocking truth: women, children
and men are not safe in hospitals.
It is time for the organisations and individuals who have a legal and moral obligation to
ensure that hospitals are places of safety to act.
Ensuring systems are in place to ensure patient safety is an essential first step. All NHS
Trusts must also introduce and signpost transparent procedures for patients and staff to
report incidents and/or raise concerns.
Accurate data collection – which includes the sex, not gender – of both victims and alleged
perpetrators is essential.
Repealing Annex B and ensuring that women are accommodated on single-sex wards would
also be a simple step towards improved safeguarding and restoring women’s trust.