TEHRAN- New research in the United Kingdom has revealed that the majority of rape and sexual assault victims say their mental health deteriorated during the police investigation. 

Researchers at City, University of London, carried out the largest ever survey of rape and sexual assault survivors in England and Wales. 

The survey was part of a government-funded program. 

But the results of the study are very far from what the government wanted to hear. 

75 percent of the respondents said they were negatively impacted by what the police did or failed to do in their case.

According to the new research, essentially, three out of every four rape and sexual assault victims have said their mental health was harmed during the police investigation.

"I am more afraid of the police than being raped again," one of the victims told the researchers. 

Another said it "saddens" her that someone else "went through [the police investigation of their case] because the police dismissed [my case] so quickly."

In a more alarming revelation, which highlights an extremely low level of trust between rape victims and the British police, one respondent said that her rapist is a serving police officer, who was neither arrested nor suspended from duty. 

The report states that "some survivors have de-facto lost access to what should be a universal public service available to all - being able to call the police when in danger."

Professor Katrin Hohl, who led the research, described the research as "unprecedented" and branded the results as "sobering".

"They evidence the tremendous harm that poor policing has caused to many rape and sexual assault survivors," she noted.

She also added that the researchers saw in the study evidence that the survivors "being unprotected (by the police) saying it has emboldened their perpetrators to carry on offending against them because they feel they can do so with impunity". 

Well over half of the survey’s respondents said they are unlikely to report a rape to the police again. Some of the survivors disclosed that they had been raped again but had not reported this to the police.

The survey adds that many survivors “felt deep regret for having trusted the police with their case and wished they had never reported the crime”.

End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAWC) said the survey showed that the criminal justice system was “often a site of harm” for survivors of rape.

The EVAWC added, “Our culture of disbelief and victim-blaming stops women reporting sexual violence. This is reinforced each time we see victims being dismissed and sexual violence minimised in the media, our friendship groups, on social media. As a society, we must do better.”

The research comes on the backdrop of another disturbing survey in May, which revealed that almost two-thirds of young women have experienced sexual harassment, bullying, or verbal abuse at work. 

The poll conducted by the Trades Union Congress found that overall, 58 percent of women of all ages reported they had experienced being harassed, bullied, or verbally abused while trying to do their job.

This is while some 62 percent of women in the 25 to 34 age group reported being pestered or persecuted on work premises - as well as during virtual meetings, over email, and on the phone.

The findings came amid scrutiny of workplace treatment of women amid a string of recent allegations of sexual misconduct at high-profile organisations.

Among these organizations making the headlines is the Confederation of British Industry, whose website says is the "UK's premier business organisation, providing a voice for firms at a regional, national and international level to policymakers."

But the culture at the business lobby group has been described as "toxic" by its female staff who have made allegations of sexual misconduct and rape, some of which the police are investigating.

Investigations that the latest research suggests will make the mental state of the victims worse and regret their decisions. 

The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Paul Nowak, said, "Every woman should be safe from sexual harassment. But every day, we hear stories about the extent of sexual harassment in our workplaces."

"And we know many women in public-facing jobs - like retail workers and general practitioner receptionists - suffer regular abuse from customers and patients," he added. 

This month, another new survey found that almost a third of female surgical staff working for the National Health Service (NHS) have been sexually assaulted in the last five years.

The study, published in the British Journal of Surgery, highlights the amount of sexual coercion reported, with women "experiencing forced physical contact linked to career opportunities".

Alongside rape at work, it found that "participants in this survey reported rape by colleagues in other work-related contexts, including teaching spaces, conferences, and after-work events with colleagues".

"There are relatively few measures in place to protect the potentially vulnerable in settings such as conferences," the report found.

The survey included different levels of staff, from consultants all the way down to medical students.

However, the vast majority of those surveyed were consultants and more senior members of staff, which the report indicated was because younger staff were often too afraid to speak out.

In its analysis of the survey data, the report concluded that "in the surgical profession, hierarchy mirrors power and responsibility".

It added that "arguably, an implicit aspect of becoming part of surgical culture is to not draw attention to sexual misconduct."

"The surgical workplace is particularly vulnerable to sexual misconduct with its predominantly male senior workforce, use of strongly hierarchical structures, and high-stress environments."
Experts say those who question why women at all workplaces in the United Kingdom and at all levels of profession who face sexual abuse when heading off to their jobs, do not speak out or report such serious offenses to the police, now have a clearer idea of why that is the case. 

Critics have accused consecutive British governments of failing to protect women at work, despite repeated promises to do so.