Going to court

[emy2005]

Hi Im emy i got raped a year ago almost, im going to court in June and im so scared. I wanna know what kinda things I am going to ask and how it will affect me. Also if im telling my story, will they ask about how i feel now? If so the best way for me to express my feelings is through poems. Would a poem help do you think? Do you think they would let me read a poem out that i had written? Also I dont get on with either of my parents particularly well they never seem to take notice of what happened to me and my mum blames me and says its my fault. I really dont want her to be in the court room while im giving my evidence out. What do i need to do to ensure this wont happen? Anyone who has been to court please help me I could really do with someone whos been through it to tell me the truth on what its going to be like.

please write bk luv emyxxxx

[Saffron]

Hi Emy

First of all, well done for having the courage to do this.
At court you should be given a Court Liaison officer. S/he will look after you and explain the process. You and anyone accompanying you can wait for the case to be called in a separate room, away from where your attacker and the general public will be waiting.

You can give your evidence from behind a screen, or even via videolink. This means that if your Mum does turn up, she will not be able to see you. Sometimes the judge will order the court to be cleared while you walk to the witness stand. This means you will not see or be seen by the public gallery at all throughout your evidence, so you will not even know if your mum is there.

With regard to the questions you will be asked, it is highly unlikely that you will be asked anything about any previous sex life or sexual partners. It is also unlikely that the prosecution will attempt to discredit you, or upset you, as this will only make the jury more sympathetic to you.

With regard to asking you how you feel now, I am not sure this will be deemed relevant. I suspect that the Crown will be concerned only with the actual events of the rape itself, and how you felt at the time, not how you feel now. However, If your attacker is convicted, the Crown usually requests a "victim impact report" before sentencing. This is when you get the opportunity to state how the attack has affected your life, and this does have a bearing on the sentence the judge gives the guilty person.

I hope this has made things a little clearer. Good luck with everything, feel free to mail me if you want to know any more.

Saffron x

[maria]

hi emy just wanted to say good luck and stay strong xoxoxo

[HugsKisses&&BestWishes]

hope it helps

i have also been raped but i have not yet been to court for this but i have been to court because somone hit me and my mum told the ploice i know its petty but there was sevral girls and my mum was scared it would happen again when i wen i had a video link you wont see anyone in the court room if you ask for this when they ask why say you do not wish to see the person that did this to you as it still scares you and you feel vunreble trust me seeing the person who attact you will not have you in a good state i saw him the other day just a couple of month later was physicly sick shacking and in tears for over an hour but anyway as to your quetoins theyll basicly ask you your storie then the person against you(im not an expert ive jst been there befor) will make out your liein i read on one website that a girl was told in these words 'i put it to you that if you did not want sexual intercourse all you needed to do was keep your legs shut' i think this is horible after your case i would love for you to email me telling me the quetoins they asked you and how it turned out because in the next two years i shall to have to go to court and like i said i know this threw a diferent type of trial and what ive heard from sites i hope ive helped and good luck bbe x oh yeah my email adress is litledevile_306@hotmail.com plz send me an email after your tryle x