I’m a volunteer at a rape crisis centre – believe me, the legal system has never been balanced for survivors

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Another day, another debate about whether or not those accused of sexual violence should be protected. This time, Cliff Richard and Paul Gambaccini have launched a campaign for anonymity. It’s immensely frustrating to me – as a volunteer for a rape crisis centre – that this topic keeps rearing its head when it causes so much harm to survivors.

While suspects aren’t usually identified until formally charged, their names are released in “exceptional circumstances”, which was Richard’s experience. The problem is not whether or not criminal suspects should be anonymous, but that those accused of sexual violence should be treated differently to any other offence.

It’s never up for discussion whether those accused of murder or any other violent crime should be protected, and therefore the repeated suggestion that the rules should be different for sexual violence implies one thing: that those who accuse others of rape are probably lying.

This myth – and it is a myth – is unspeakably damaging. I know through meeting women and girls as vice chair of the Peterborough Rape Crisis Care Group that many survivors are terrified of going to the police for fear of not being believed.

Only an estimated 17 per cent of survivors report to the police (despite the fact that it affects around 20 per cent of women and 4 per cent of men) and a large part of that is the fear of being treated like fantasists – or worse, openly manipulative.

Some are asking for a “rebalancing” of the legal system, but they’re forgetting one thing: it isn’t and has never been balanced for survivors of rape. Only 5.7 per cent of reported rape cases actually end in conviction.

Sometimes, the only thing survivors have left, the only shred of self-esteem is that staff and volunteers at crisis centres believe them implicitly. I’ve met those who have attempted suicide when met with sceptical police officers, or when their cases have failed to make it to court.

I’ve met women who have experienced abuse as children at the hands of family members or been attacked by strangers as vulnerable teens, who are still too frightened to tell their closest friends or relatives years down the line. Not being believed would be the final blow.

Stories of false accusations are always given top billing in the tabloids, to the degree that you’d think there was an equal chance of cases like these being rooted in truth as they could be in falsehoods. But it’s extremely difficult to get a case to court in the first place, as it can be incredibly challenging to gather evidence, especially in historic cases.

It’s also worth noting that analysis based on stats from the ONS has found that a man is more likely to be raped than to be falsely accused. Still, these stories fade into the background, with the deafening noise that confronts survivors every day telling them that the world thinks they are lying, that they, solely, are to blame.

I’m not saying that being falsely accused and named isn’t a horrible experience, of course it is. But the way rape cases are often reported, and the constant “debates” that ensue as a result, only ever encourage readers to put themselves in the shoes of the accused, never the survivor.

I would argue that it’s worse to be sexually abused (perhaps as a child; perhaps for years and years; perhaps by a trusted family member) and then to be told you’re a liar.

That the law as it stands around anonymity is already working isn't just my opinion. The suggested reforms have already been recently reviewed by the home secretary and shut down. If we must debate anonymity, then it should be the same for all crimes.

These sorts of conversations only serve to take the attention away from where it matters. The country needs more rape crisis centres, better funding, and lessons taught in schools about consent and loving relationships. Those spearheading this unhelpful and misinformed cause would do well to remind themselves that this story is much bigger than a select few celebrities.

For help or advice, please visit https://rapecrisis.org.uk