On 6 and 7th February 2023 together with Women of Colour in the Global Women’s Strike, we held a lively protest outside the sentencing hearing of David Carrick, former Met police officer, a prolific serial rapist, domestic abuser and torturer of women.
Women with disabilities, sex workers, women with insecure immigration status, and mothers whose children had been removed after the mum suffered domestic violence – all spoke out passionately and movingly about how police hostility had impacted their lives and made it impossible to get their rapist or abuser arrested and prosecuted.
Some survivors spoke of police treating them more like a suspect and even threatening them with arrest. Supportive men joined us and passers-by said they were glad for our presence. There was lively chanting and interaction with the media.
Open letter to the Met police, February 2023.
Our demands for change included:
- Corrupt, prejudiced officers must be sacked with immediate effect
- Vetting of prospective officers must be rigorous
- Officers who blow the whistle must be protected
- Rape, domestic violence, racist attacks and other crimes against the person (rather than property), including by police perpetrators, must become a number one priority
- No police in schools
- No strip search of children
- No additional police powers - NO Public Order Bill!
Some excerpts from the media:
National World, 8 February. David Carrick: rapist Met Police officer jailed for minimum of 30 years after series of sexual offences. Watch here
Open Democracy, 8 February. Scrap plans to give cops more power, say women as David Carrick jailed for life. Read the interview with us here.
New York Times, 7 February: London police officer sentenced to life for rape and sexual abuse. Read more here.
The Mirror, 7 February. David Carrick: Protesters gather outside court ahead of sentence. Watch here
APNews, 7 February. UK police officer, exposed as serial rapist, jailed for life. Read more here.
The Guardian, 7 February. David Carrick: serial rapist and former Met police officer sentenced to more than 30 years in prison – as it happened. Read more here.
Nadja - Rethink the News, 7 February. Where do women turn if they can’t trust the police? Read more here.
Evening Standard, 6 February. Protest outside Crown Court before David Garrick's sentencing. Watch/read here.
ITN News, 6 February. David Carrick sentencing: Inside rapist officer's home where he locked up and spied on women. More here.
ITN News, 6 February. David Carrick sentencing: Inside rapist officer's home where he locked up and spied on women. More here.
Police violence: the statistics...
More news on police sexual and rascist violence
PRESS STATEMENT: Women Asylum Seekers Condemn “Earned Settlement” Proposal as Sexist, Racist and Dangerous
Press Statement: Women Asylum Seekers Condemn “Earned Settlement” Proposal as Sexist, Racist and Dangerous Women asylum seekers from the All African Women’s Group (AAWG), together with Global Women Against Deportations (GWAD) and Women Against Rape (WAR), have submitted evidence opposing the government’s proposed “earned settlement” scheme, warning that it will deepen discrimination and push women …
Submission to the Government Consultation on Earned Settlement
Submission to the Government Consultation on Earned Settlement All African Women’s Group, Global Women Against Deportations and Women Against Rape’s Asylum from Rape project. Summary All African Women’s Group (AAWG), Global Women Against Deportations (GWAD) and Women Against Rape (WAR) oppose the government’s earned settlement proposal because it is inherently sexist, racist and discriminatory. It …
Event: Protest & Speakout
EVENT: WAR will join All African Women’s Group to Protest and Speak out! WHERE: Taylor House, 88 Rosebery Ave, London EC1R 4QU WHEN: Tues 3 February & Tues 3 March 12.30-1.30pm ORGANISERS: Global Women Against Deportations & All African Women’s Group Politicians and the media have whipped up hatred against asylum seekers and migrants. Now …
Call to Action: Join Women Against Rape and others in denouncing the rape and torture of Palestinian women, children and men in Israeli detention. End rape, end genocide, end complicity.
Call to Action Join Women Against Rape and others in denouncing the rape and torture of Palestinian women, children and men in Israeli detention. End rape, end genocide, end complicity. (See link below to sign) Trigger warning: explicit sexual violence. For over two years of unrelenting bombing, Palestinian women have fought for survival and against …
They Claimed to Protect Women & Children but they Terrorised Us
They Claimed to Protect Women and Children but they Terrorised Us: All African Women’s Group Speaks Out Against Racist Attacks Women Against Rape helped women speak out about sexually predatory guards in asylum hotels and their justified objections to being housed with men, so that what they experienced could be included in their detailed …
Call for Action: Palestinian Testimonies about Rape and Torture in Israeli Detention
CALL FOR ACTION: Palestinian Testimonies about Rape and Torture in Israeli Detention We must organise against this to mark 16 Days Against Violence Against Women and Girls Content warning: rape and other torture On 10 November the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) published testimonies by four recently released prisoners, a woman and three men, …
Open letter from All African Women’s Group to the UK government to demand that the Namibia Country of Origin Report be revised . . .
All African Women’s Group: Open letter to the UK government to demand that the Namibia country of origin report be revised . . . At a series of meetings last year, which Women Against Rape helped facilitate, women who had fled rape and other violence including Domestic Violence spoke about being refused protection by the …
Press: “Every cut to social care makes older women & women with disabilities more vulnerable to violence”, says Women Against Rape
EXCLUSIVE: Hammersmith and Fulham Council apologised for not providing “the right care sooner” but the woman said she feels “betrayed” and “left to rot” A frail elderly woman says she was raped after turning to strangers online for help because care was not put in place by her local council when she came out of …
Event: Victim-Suspect screening – “You’re sexually assaulted. You report. And police make you the suspect!”
Report of screening dramatic Netflix film ‘Victim-Suspect’, 15 May 2025 We have been encouraging people to watch this ground-breaking American documentary, and we’ve been organising screenings followed by guest speakers and Q&As. It’s a good way of informing people about the horrendous injustices which victims of sexual violence face both in the US and …
Event: WAR speaking after showing of film Victim/Suspect, 15 May 2025
The film 3.30pm: A US reporter discovers a pattern of women who reported sexual assault to police nationwide but were then charged with fabricating their allegations-sometimes facing prison. “You’re sexually assaulted. You report. And police make you the suspect!” University College London, Lecture Theatre G22, North West Wing, 136 Gower St., London WC1E …