A young woman from the United Kingdom, who was raped during a holiday in Turkey, was told by a government service to continue her journey and enjoy it, a security guard said.
According to the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman, the victim, called Ms B, was said to have been “despised” by the UK’s Foreign, Community and Development Office (FCDO) and denied the opportunity to take action. judicial action.
She even received a message from the vice consul saying: “What you need to do now is to continue your vacation and enjoy it,” the PA news agency reported.
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The public oversight body upheld the victim’s complaint, concluding that the FCDO’s failures had led to her missing opportunity to bring her attackers to justice. The woman has not received information on where she can get legal advice or on the procedures of the local police.
She was also made to believe several things that were wrong, 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 also expressed concern about the attitude of FCDO staff, saying they did not trust or take her seriously. She was forced to return to Turkey three times to hire a local lawyer and follow up with police, but none of the perpetrators were found.
An earlier police investigation could lead to a different outcome, the woman said. She said: “I would not want my experience with the mishandling of the FCDO to anyone else. 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. “
The following services will also provide treatment or support and may refer you to another service if you need more specialized help.
The Ombudsman recommended that the department determine what action it would take to address its shortcomings in a plan submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs. It also asked the FCDO to compensate Ms B for the unnecessary travel and legal expenses she had incurred and the suffering she had suffered as a result of his actions.
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 severe disregard for the obligations of 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 government services will show the highest levels of awareness and understanding of the importance of women’s safety.
A FCDO spokesman said: “We apologize for the disaster and will immediately implement the ombudsman’s recommendations. Following this incident in 2018, the FCDO took a number of steps to ensure that victims would not fail in the same way. We are committed to learning from what we failed to do so that we can improve the consular support we provide to British citizens in cases involving rape and sexual violence. “
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