Rape survivor launches support group with court payout

Thursday 29 January 2015

A brave rape survivor has donated part of the court settlement she won from her attacker to establish a campaign to support other women and men in Jersey who are the victims of sexual assault.

Cassidy McIntosh (27) has waived her legal right to anonymity to speak out about the emotional and psychological turmoil that many rape survivors go through.

In 2012, while her parents were away on holiday, she was raped by a man who had been a trusted friend of her family. She reported the attack to the police and her attacker was interviewed, but the police could not get enough evidence to mount a criminal prosecution.

Instead of giving up, she became the first person in Jersey to take a civil action for rape in the Jersey courts.

Her attacker settled the case 11 months later, paying her over £150,000 in damages and legal costs.

And now Cassidy is using the money to establish Jersey Action Against Rape – a group set up to provide a dedicated service for survivors of rape and sexual assault on the island. Extrapolating from UK figures, there are thought to be around 800 sexual assaults on women and 130 on men every single year in Jersey – but in 2012 only 12 rapes were reported to the States of Jersey Police.

The police have already announced a plan to improve rape investigations, but Cassidy – who has been diagnosed as suffering from psychiatric injury or post-traumatic stress disorder since the attack – says that survivors also need dedicated support.

In a speech launching JAAR along with the Lieutenant-Governor General Sir John McColl, Cassidy said: “My purpose in bringing my civil claim was never to enrich myself. I wanted something good to come out of the appalling act to which I had been subjected.

“I wanted others to not feel ashamed and to not suffer in silence.

“I wanted others to have the specialist support that I had not and that would help empower them to reclaim their lives. It is out of this horrific event that my family and I conceived of the idea of launching Jersey Action Against Rape.

“Having settled my claim and after paying my costs and other expenses I have donated all of the general damages received from the defendant to setting up Jersey Action Against Rape.

“I will never be able to fully communicate everything that a survivor of rape or sexual abuse feels, thinks or experiences. It is something nobody can really understand fully unless they have been through it but I hope that JAAR will provide the support and information that is so vital to survivors.”