Only one in seven rape victims expect justice: Sex attack convictions continue to plunge as new poll shows less than a third of assaults are reported to police

Just one in seven rape victims believes they will get justice by going to the police, a survey reveals.

Victims' Commissioner Dame Vera Baird said that as rape convictions plunge, the results revealed the 'extent of the crisis within our justice system'.

Her poll of nearly 500 men and women who had been raped found only 14 per cent agreed that 'survivors of rape and sexual offences can get justice by reporting an incident to the police', and 75 per cent actively disagreed.

It found that 29 per cent of alleged victims did not report their ordeal to the police, with more than nine in ten of them fearing they wouldn't be believed.

Just one in seven rape victims believes they will get justice by going to the police, a survey reveals. (Stock image) 

Katie Russell, of Rape Crisis England and Wales, said the poll was 'devastating'.

One respondent, a woman in the 25-34 age bracket, said: 'It's an unjust justice system. I'm left by the police to pick up the broken pieces of my life..'

Dame Vera said: 'Page after page of this report, you will see the powerful first-hand testimony of rape survivors and their experience of our criminal justice system. And it does not make comfortable reading.

'Survivors want to be treated sensitively, fairly, respectfully, to be believed, but also for criminal justice system professionals to better understand trauma, provide clear and timely information, and to offer better access to support services.

'And on all of these fronts, the justice system has been found wanting.

'This survey and the voices behind it reveal the extent of the crisis within our justice system.'

Deputy Chief Constable Sarah Crew, of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: 'It is really disappointing for us, as police officers, when any victim does not get the outcome they wanted or feels let down by the criminal justice system.

'The ongoing government review of rape will report back soon and we are committed to implementing any recommendations that would see a better level of service for victims.'