British officials have told a woman who begged for help after being raped in Turkey to “continue your vacation” instead of seeking justice, as it turned out. A condemnation report from the Civil Service Surveillance reveals a list of failures of the Office of Foreign Affairs and Development (FCDO) in the case of “Ms B”, considering that the opportunity to bring the perpetrator to justice was lost. The victim, who was attacked while on holiday with friends, filed a complaint after her request for help was treated with indifference by officials who “did not believe her or take her seriously”. She said she was not given any information about local criminal proceedings and “was forced to use my intuition to maintain forensic evidence”. The report found that the woman “led her to believe that she had given sufficient information to the police, did not need a forensic examination and had completed the necessary steps for a criminal investigation, when in fact none of this was happening.” A message to the woman from the Deputy Consul said: “All you have to do now is continue your vacation and enjoy it.” She accused the Foreign Office of giving her “false hopes” for an investigation on her return to the UK, leading to a forensic examination which ultimately proved futile. The complaint added: “The very bad advice and fraudulent involvement of the FCDO prevented the help of the British police, causing me prolonged suffering, additional anger and unnecessary anxiety.” Woman raped in unknown location in Turkey (Image: Getty) Confirming the complaint, the ombudsman and the Health Services Ombudsman said that the FCDO’s actions left the victim feeling that he had “no choice” but to return to Turkey three times to monitor matters with the local police. Her report continued: “This caused her further unnecessary anxiety and prolonged her trauma, as well as additional costs. Despite her efforts, which included hiring a local lawyer, none of the perpetrators were found. “The knowledge that a previous police investigation could have led to a different outcome has exacerbated Ms B’s trauma.” “The FCDO’s failures have led to a missed opportunity for it to bring its attackers to justice,” the report said, adding that it did not name any officials involved in the case or its location or date. FCDO found that it missed opportunities to help women find justice (Image: Getty) “The lack of support from the FCDO made her feel that her traumatic experience was not significant. That undermined her ability to heal. “ The Foreign Office was called upon to reimburse Ms B. for her “teacher” and “unnecessary travel and legal expenses”. Ombudsman Rob Behrens said: “A young woman who has had a deeply traumatic experience is being treated with contempt by the very people who came to her aid. “This is a serious omission by the FCDO, which must ensure that such mishandling of a serious sexual assault incident will never happen again. “In the wake of the #MeToo era, people have the right to assume that government departments will show the highest levels of awareness and understanding about the importance of women’s safety.” Do you have a story? Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] Or you can submit your videos and photos here. For more stories like this, check out our news page. Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also download Metro.co.uk articles directly to your device. Sign up for our daily push notifications here.
