5 top tips for survivors who are interacting with the police about image-based abuse
Interacting with the police can be confusing. You shouldn’t have to deal with this on your own, or advocate for yourself, but we know survivors of image-based abuse often do. We understand that personal circumstances and police misconceptions about image-based abuse can make it tricky to access support.
If you are able to get support, please do. You can always contact us on support@notyourporn.com.
Please see below for 5 top tips on interacting with the police:
Seek advice about image-based abuse laws and procedures.
Whether seeking legal advice, advice from organisations or conducting your own research, making sure you know the types of offences applicable to your experiences, the statutory-time limits and requirements for evidence or police procedures can help you to advocate for yourself confidently in your interaction with the police.
Record all details of your interactions with the police.
Make note of every police meeting, phone call or development in your case. This helps you to challenge decisions if you need to or to seek more specialist advice.
Put everything in writing.
Put every request in writing or follow up from in-person meetings or phone calls over email. This helps to create a paper trail of your case and to support you to take appropriate action, should you need to.
Ask the police questions about the process, raise concerns and ask for the adjustments you need to engage in the investigation.
You can ask the police questions about the investigation process, call 101 to escalate/complain about the handling of your case, raise concerns directly to the investigating officer (such as about lengthy delays), ask for support if you are finding it difficult to engage or ask the police for updates. You are within your right to make these requests.
Ask someone to come with you to meetings with the police or to help you to talk to them.
You don’t need to navigate this alone. If you have someone you trust who can support you or you can access professional support, it can help having someone with you when meeting or talking to the police. Image-based abuse is incredibly traumatic and it can be difficult to manage the demands of a police investigation when dealing with trauma.
