WAR is independent of the police, the CPS and Home Office. Its services are based on self help, and it provides support and legal rights information to those trying to get justice, protection, asylum and compensation.  Its campaigns are shaped by casework.  It has helped set precedents in law such as the first private prosecution for rape in England and Wales.  This work has helped to change the attitudes of individuals and institutions.  When acting in individual cases, WAR takes account of the implications for other cases.  It aims to make each individual advance useful to others who are seeking justice.

If you need help please see our Guides here and get in touch here.

Below are examples of some of our cases and legal victories. 

Asylum from Rape Bulletin Spring 2009

9 July 2009

Winning compensation for unlawful detention of rape survivor. Listen to Ms PB being interview on Radio 4’s “PM” program in December 2008 here. Read about her fight against the racist attacks here which she and other women suffered in a Liverpool Hostel. You may have heard about the case of Ms PB who was recently …

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28 June 2008

Ms L wins £11,000 at Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority appeal A rape survivor who was unable to give a full statement to the police applied for compensation three years later, fought an initial refusal – and won! Facts Ms L was attacked in May 2001, by a stranger. She has no memory from the middle …

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In the media: Evidence of sexual history

11 December 1998

New Law Journal: why there should be a ban of the use of evidence on a women’s sexual history Parliament should stop endorsing judges’ sexism which exposes victims to questions about sex with men other than the defendant – and understand that this kind of action is, in fact, a second rape.  

In the media: “they said i asked for it” special report in Bella.

29 September 1998

He’s the rapist, she’s the victim. Bella article asks the question – So how come every little detail about her lifestyle is used to make the women look like the criminal??

Legal precedent for rape victims seeking asylum

9 December 1997

Legal precedent for rape victims seeking asylum   We were centrally involved in winning this important legal precedent for rape survivors seeking asylum in the Royal Courts of Justice, London back in 1997. Mr Justice Sullivan ruled that the previous Home Secretary had been wrong not to consider new evidence provided by a young woman …

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Statement: Legal precedent for rape victimes seeking asylum

9 December 1997

We call for an official recognition of rape victims’ suffering. Ms G fled Uganda in 1989 following multiple attacks of rape and violence she suffered from soldiers. Here is the statement issued by Black Women’s Rape Action Project which marks an important legal precedent for rape survivors seeking asylum …

Letter: We write to Helen Grindrod QC regarding consent in rape trials

13 June 1997

We argue against new legislation regarding concsent cases. Our letter below outlines the intolerable ordeal rape survivors now face in trying to establish in court that they did not consent to sex.

Prostitute wins compensation

19 March 1996

In the media: The Guilty Victim, Rape and the CPS

26 October 1995

Two prostitute women set legal precedent by bringing and winning prosecution for rape. As reported in the Socialist Lawyer in 1995, after the CPS originally dropped the case, Christopher Davies was finally found guilty of raping and assaulting the two women.

Rapist jailed in private prosecution

20 September 1995

In the media: Who counts and who pays?

16 June 1995

Government attempts to cut compensation to victims of violence. As reported in the New Law Journal, the new system of fixed tariffs for specific injuries cuts victims’ money by £250million a year.

In the media: Private case brings rapist to justice

18 May 1995

Prostitutes succeed with prosecution after CPS refuses to pursue attacker for lack of evidence. As reported in the Guardian, two sex workers made legal history with the first private prosecution for rape in an English court. Read the full article here below.

In the media: Brilliant, says wife

21 March 1991

In the media: Brilliant, says wife as rapist husband gets five years The first husband in England to be found guilty of raping his wife was jailed, as reported in the Daily Mail in March 1991.

In the media: PC freed after appeal judges overturn rape conviction

13 July 1990

Three appeal court judges freed a police constable who raped As reported in The Guardian July 1990, PC Anderson was freed on the grounds that the original trial judge had said nothing in his summing up about the officer’s previous good character.