Law could change to better protect sexual assault victims after death of Dorset teenager
Moves to improve police investigations into cases of rape and sexual assault could become law following a campaign by the family of a teenage sexual assault victim who died.
Gaia Pope, from Dorset, had made an allegation of rape but no case was taken forward.
She later ran away in November 2017 and was reported missing. Her body was found near Swanage. She died, aged 19, of hypothermia.
Her family told an inquest her spiral into mental health decline and PTSD dated exactly from the alleged incident.
The man she accused was later convicted of child sex offences.
The Gaia Principle has now been proposed as an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill which is currently going through parliament.
Gaia's cousin, Marienna Pope-Weidemann from the Gemini Project is calling for more people to support the campaign
The new rules would also mean that sexual violence investigations must be conducted in line with national guidelines which are already taken up by the College of Policing.
Since her death, her family have been campaigning for the introduction of Gaia's Principle where officers would automatically have to "join the dots" between any similar allegations against the same suspect, rather than treating everything in isolation.
Gaia's cousin, Marienna Pope-Weidemann from the Gemini Project said: "It will legally compel officers, who are investigating rape or serious sexual offences, to do a thorough background check on suspects and check for independent allegations against them.
"A significant number of perpetrators we know are serial offenders and have multiple victims."
A police project called Operation Soteria, which aims to put victims at the heart of investigations, suggests between 40 and 59% of offenders are linked to multiple offences.
"We need this level of accountability in a country where less than 1.5% of rape cases result in a charge," said Gaia's cousin Marienna.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...