A young woman raped in Turkey was “taken with contempt” by the UK Foreign Office and told to “go on with her holiday” and enjoy it, a security guard said.
The victim, called Ms B, was denied the opportunity to take legal action because she had been provided with incorrect information by the government department, according to the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman (PHSO).
She received a message from the vice-consul saying: “What you need to do now is to continue your holiday and enjoy it.”
Image: FCDO’s failures lead to missed opportunity for attackers to be brought to justice, the ombudsman found
£ 20,000 compensation to the victim
The Authority upheld Ms B’s complaint, finding that the FCDO’s failures had led to her missed opportunity to bring her attackers to justice.
He also asked the FCDO to compensate Ms B £ 20,000 for the unnecessary travel and legal expenses she had incurred and the suffering she had suffered as a result of his actions.
Ms B expressed concern about the attitude of the staff and said that they did not trust her or took her seriously, and she was not given information on where she could get legal advice or about the procedures of the local police.
She was made to believe several things that were untrue, including that she had given enough evidence to the police, did not need a forensic examination, and had taken the necessary steps for a criminal investigation.
Ms. B returned to Turkey three times to hire a local lawyer and contact the police, but her attackers were never found.
An earlier police investigation could have led to a different outcome, and she said she was “forced to use her own intuition to preserve the evidence.”
“I would not want my experience of ill-treatment by the FCDO on anyone else,” she said.
“I can only hope that the FCDO will learn significant lessons from the Ombudsman’s report and that, as a result, significant changes will be made in their processes, recruitment and training practices.”
“Severe neglect of obligations”
The PHSO recommended that the department determine what action it will take to address its shortcomings in a plan submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs.
Ombudsman Rob Behrens said: “A young woman who has suffered a deeply traumatic experience has been treated with contempt by the very people who were meant to help her.
“This is a serious breach of duty by the FCDO, which must ensure that such improper treatment of an incident of serious sexual violence is never repeated.
“In the post-#MeToo era, people have a right to assume that public services will show the highest levels of awareness and understanding of the importance of women’s safety.
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A FCDO spokesman said: “We apologize for the disaster and will immediately implement the ombudsman’s recommendations.
“Since this incident in 2018, the FCDO has taken a number of steps to ensure that victims are not failed in the same way.
“We are committed to learning from where we have failed so that we can improve the consular support we provide to British citizens in cases involving rape and sexual violence.”
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