Familiar patterns of abuse by powerful men

The well-known cases of Saville, Weinstein and Epstein have familiarised us with some of these patterns of behaviour, but they are no less shocking in this case. Each victim will have their own story but consistent themes are revealed each time another high profile sexual predator is unmasked. I have acted for female and male victims of sexual assault by wealthy or high profile individuals in the fields of sport, film, TV and business. The characters and the details are different in every case, but how the abuser exploits their powerful position  in the manner in which the assault takes place and in the aftermath is all too familiar.

Exploitation of power and the culture of silence

Someone who is immensely wealthy, influential, or important to the success of a business or endeavour, someone who runs something like their own personal fiefdom or who generates money and opportunities from which others benefit, someone on whom many people rely for employment and favours is able to exploit that position. Those around them are reluctant to offend them in case their job or prospects are jeopardised. A culture of turning a blind eye can become the norm. Victims are often, although not always, younger and less influential. Very few people want to be seen as a 'trouble-maker' at work or socially – victims recognise the culture of silence in which they exist and realise that speaking out could be ruinous for their career and/or social prospects. There may also be an implicit or even explicit threat from the abuser that the victim must not tell anyone about the abuse.

At the very least, most women will know the feeling of being in an uncomfortable situation with a man. Of feeling unsure about their intentions. Of knowing that if they get it wrong, the offence they will cause. And that causing offence to this individual may be extremely damaging to their professional prospects or their social network. Of thinking, 'surely someone this successful or well-liked can't be behaving this way, it must be my misunderstanding'. Of knowing they just need to somehow get out of this situation safely…. At the more extreme end, the situation spirals into assault. Victims may feel or be physically and psychologically intimidated or restrained by their abuser.

Barriers to justice and the trauma of victims

As familiar as  the themes of abuse of power are in this case, so are the comments and questions in the media and online about the victims. About why victims did not speak out straight away, about why they have not gone to the police, about their motives.

If  a victim raises the possibility of telling others or even the media, a wealthy abuser can afford to be on the front foot and is likely to have the services of reputation management specialists and defamation lawyers on hand. Media organisations will be cautious about publishing allegations for the same reasons. Of course, it is a defence to a libel case that the allegations are true but it is up to the victim to prove that, which can be a lengthy, uncertain and expensive process. So, from the initial risks of speaking up at work or to friends and family, there are further risks of speaking out publicly. A victim must consider and manage all these risks whilst also dealing with the psychological trauma of assault. The effect is intimidating and silences many victims.

Maybe a victim has gone to the police, maybe they haven't – and if they have not this can often be presented as a sign that their complaint may not be genuine. However, when a victim does report a sexual assault to the police, the outcome is not definite. There are well known resourcing and funding issues in the police and criminal justice system, as well as inconsistent training and experience with victims of sexual assault. Evidence gathering in criminal investigations may be hampered by the reluctance of witnesses to 'get involved' and the fact that there are normally only two people present at the time of the assault – the abuser and the abused. It is another potentially lengthy and uncertain process for any victim.

The damage that I have seen sexual assault cause to victims' trust in others, as well as in themselves and their own instincts, is long-lasting and far reaching Each a time a victim has to tell their story they must delve back into memories they would rather forget. Victims of sexual assault have a long and potentially difficult road ahead should they wish to seek justice.

The manifestation of each victim's trauma response will differ depending on the circumstances and nature of the assault, as well as that individual's own history, personality and vulnerabilities. But it is not unusual for a victim to want to avoid talking about the incident and only feel able to speak out months or even years later – perhaps when other victims are speaking up and they have support. Many victims fear not being believed, wondering why people would believe them over a well-known, popular, successful and/or wealthy individual whose patronage, importance and influence extends far and wide.

The path forward: preventing abuse and supporting victims

Victims need to have mechanisms by which they can feel heard, supported and believed. The law offers a number of ways by which they may hold their abuser accountable, but these may well seem daunting. Initially a victim should be able to receive the psychological support they need, whether that is via their GP and the NHS or privately via health insurance or a personal injury claim.

A prime concern of the victims I speak to is that the abuser is stopped and cannot do to others what they did to them. The only way that is possible is via a successful criminal prosecution. What more can be done to fund and resource services within the police and criminal justice system to support and represent victims, to investigate and prepare cases for trial in a timely way? The outcome of a successful prosecution is justice for the victim and the avoidance of further assaults.

With proper legal advice a victim can avoid or respond to their abuser's threats of libel action and decide whether to speak publicly about what has happened to them. Some professions have regulators who will independently investigate and sanction the behaviour of abusers, and it is a welcome development that regulation is now expanding into the creative industries with the creation of CIISA.

A personal injury claim allows a victim to claim damages from the abuser. Far from a windfall, this is a sum commensurate with the damaging financial impact of the assault and the damages for the injuries themselves are modest. The psychological reaction can mean that the victim leaves their job or is unable to work for a period of time due to the trauma symptoms they are experiencing. They may need to change their career path due to feeling uncomfortable continuing to work in the same field. The cost of private medical treatment and therapy can be claimed, which can be a lifeline at a time of strain on NHS services. This is one way that we at Fieldfisher are able to assist and is a low cost way of holding an abuser to account and recovering money for psychological help. However, it is only part of the jigsaw and every victim I have met expects more from the law than money.

And of course, all of the above are after-the-event solutions. How do we, as a society, ensure that sexual abuse does not happen in the first place? Although the dial has shifted somewhat with #MeToo movement, there are still powerful men abusing those around them. How are they stopped? Representation, education, accountability, transparency, resources, compassion. We need more women at the tables where decisions are made, better education and awareness of the effects of sexually inappropriate behaviour and psychological trauma and mechanisms within the workplace or broader industries by which it is easy to report assaults to an independent investigating team without fear of repercussion. Inappropriate behaviour must  be called out consistently and better funding is needed for the public services that victims rely on for justice and recovery – the police, courts, legal help, mental health services. Perhaps most importantly, there needs to becompassion for those who have suffered something as destructive to their sense of self as sexual assault. In the end it has to become far less socially acceptable to fail victims than to offend abusers.

Listen to Claire Glasgow being interviewed on BBC 5 Live about the alleged sexual assault victims of former Harrods boss Mohamed Al-Fayed. 

Read about our sexual assault claims and hear from our clients.