BBC
Four women have accused Russell Brand of rape and sexual assault in a joint investigation between the Sunday Times, the Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.
He is also accused of behaving inappropriately at work during the height of his fame, including by undressing, making sexual remarks and acting aggressively. The comedian and actor denies all the allegations.
Since the story broke, some have asked why the women took their stories to the media, instead of the police.
Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, part of the team that investigated the allegations, told the BBC that coming to the media is not an easy choice but, for some victims, it is a “preferable option”. None of the women interviewed in the investigation reported their allegations at the time.
But Urwin emphasises there have been many stories “about why women don’t have faith in the criminal justice system to get justice”.
The women who have made allegations against Brand were not paid for their interviews.
‘Classic victim blaming and shaming’
“Nadia” – one of those to make accusations against Brand – was treated at a rape crisis centre on the same day of her alleged assault in 2012. The Sunday Times and Dispatches investigation says it has confirmed her visit to the centre via medical records.
According to these notes, an officer from the Los Angeles Police Department was alerted by the centre but Nadia chose not to make a report, saying she “didn’t think my words would mean anything up against his”.
Women reporting serious sexual assaults can face intense scrutiny and cultural bias, says Caroline Nokes, who chairs the Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee.
She told BBC Breakfast that, since the Russell Brand investigation was published, people have been “questioning the veracity of [the women’s] claims, challenging them over their own behaviours, questioning why it took so long for them to come forward”.
She says this is “classic victim blaming and shaming” behaviour, and acts as a deterrent to vulnerable victims.
Ms Nokes wants women to be “encouraged and empowered” to report crimes, but says this is difficult “when we have the Metropolitan Police themselves hanging under a cloud”.
High-profile cases of rapes by serving Metropolitan police officers have shaken trust in the force, while a damning review earlier this year found the capital’s police force was failing women and children. In a speech last week, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the force was in reform, with “a mission of more trust, less crime and higher standards”.
The Metropolitan Police said on Sunday it was making further approaches to the Sunday Times and Channel 4 “to ensure that any victims of crime who they have spoken with are aware of how they may report any criminal allegations to police”. On Monday, it said it had received a report of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in Soho, central London, in 2003…
