22 October 2025
The BBC has published a story this morning, stating that more than 300 people have contacted the BBC with allegations of racism, corruption and bullying of victims by police after a Panorama undercover investigation. One of the main themes among those getting in touch was experiences of misogyny in response to their reports of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Some told the broadcaster that reporting their rape to police “was like being raped again”.
Nahar Choudhury, chief executive of Solace, London’s largest domestic abuse and sexual violence charity, said:
“Shaming and blaming survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence for what perpetrators have done to them perpetuates violence against women and girls and emboldens those who carry it out.
“The women we support tell us, every day, that they are made to feel ashamed of these crimes, which they did not commit. The fact that police – the very people whose roles exist to help victims of crime – are essentially supporting perpetrators instead is, frankly, disgusting.
“The BBC’s Panorama programme exposed the Met’s part in this. Now that survivors throughout the country have exposed other forces, it is time for national leaders to take control of the situation. How on earth can any perpetrator be held to account when equally sexist, misogynistic people are in charge of policing them?”