Britain's data protection regulator called on Tuesday for police and prosecutors to stop treating rape victims as suspects and end excessive scrutiny of their personal information which critics have likened to a digital strip search.
The UK Information Commissioner John Edwards said victims of attacks were being forced to hand over extraordinary amounts of information to the justice system about their lives from medical records to school reports, and this had to stop.
"Our investigation reveals an upsetting picture of how victims of rape and serious sexual assault feel treated," he said. "Victims are being treated as suspects, and people feel revictimised by a system they expect to support them."
