Without Consent by Kathryn Fox Page B

gave permission for me to use his opinion to precipitate discussion on the subject.”
    Anya could imagine how the conversation had gone. No doubt Gatlow argued that the controversy here about colposcopic photography continued, but omitted to mention she was the sole instigator of the debate.
    “We’ve covered this before.” Anya dug her fingernails into her palms. “The trial in the UK failed, if you read the rest of that letter, which, incidentally, appears to be missing from the copy you gave us.”
    The other committee members shifted in their seats.
    Anya continued, “As doctors, we’re advocates for patients, or in this case, the victims. We do whatever we can to collect forensic evidence, but only with the victims’ informed consent. We’ve gone out of our way to make the whole experience less sterile and invasive, which is why we don’t do colposcopies. Now you want us to film and photograph victims’ genitalia, for potentially hordes of people to see in a courtroom.”
    “We owe it to them to get a conviction wherever possible,” Lyndsay interrupted.
    “That is not our purpose.” Anya placed both palms on the table. “Our role is to empower them, not turn them into a freak show, where people stare at their genitals and give varying opinions as to whether or not an assault took place.”
    The predatory smile returned. “I hate to say it, but I think Doctor Crichton is being overly sensitive about this. As with medical records, we can restrict who has access.”
    Anya felt the heat rash on her neck spreading. No one patronized women better than women. “Don’t think that we can control who sees the images. If admitted, they’ll be viewed by police, judges, lawyers, juries, and even the perpetrator in the victim’s presence.”
    “I don’t see the problem,” said the detective inspector. “If the assault is particularly brutal, the defense lawyers could argue that photographic evidence is prejudicial, and have the images excluded.”
    “Taking that argument alone, any images that fail to show trauma could be used as evidence that no assault took place. As everyone at this table knows, the majority of sexual assaults don’t have signs of genital trauma. In those instances, any photos that appear normal will be prejudicial to the prosecution’s case. We’d be disadvantaging the victims.”
    “Sorry I’m late,” announced Jennifer Beck as she entered the room, pulled a spare chair from the corner to the table and sat down. “Who’s disadvantaging victims?”
    Lyndsay Gatlow gushed, “We were just debating the merits of photographing genital injuries.”
    “Good, that’s why I wanted to speak with you today.” Jennifer pulled up the sleeves of her pale blue cardigan and glanced around the table. “You’ve all heard by now that prosecutors are losing the fight against sexual assault. With only twenty percent of assaults reported to police, what we see is the tip of an enormous iceberg. With other crimes declining in recent years, sexual assault stands alone as the one crime category in which the number of offenses is on the increase. Even with the evidence doctors collect, and the statements of the victims, the majority of offenses don’t result in a formal investigation. Most trials don’t lead to convictions.”
    She locked eyes with each person before continuing her speech. “What we estimate is that 199 out of 200 incidents will not result in a conviction. That’s a hell of a lot of scared and traumatized victims we’ve all let down.”
    Lyndsay frowned. “If there’s virtually no chance of being caught, there’s no deterrent. Unless we help the police and prosecutors, we’re telling offenders that sexual assault isn’t a crime.”
    Mary Singer stopped studying her fingertips. “We could start by doing away with feeding the media terms like date-rape. Rape is rape, irrespective of the social circumstances. And what does ‘domestic violence’ suggest? That violence in the