Enough’s critics include the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Bristol University, UWE, Rape Crisis England and Wales, Bristol city council and the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM), a charity that maintains professional standards.
It has since handed out 7,000 free kits to students at Bristol University and the University of the West of England (UWE) and says that 270 rapes have been reported to its online platform so far, and seven kits have been sent for lab testing.
Enough’s White argues: “We advise every person to go to the police or report to a Sarc if that’s what they choose before engaging with Enough, but many don’t trust the police or are put off if they tell their friends and find they side with the perpetrator.
On a bitingly cold Tuesday, ambassadors dressed in bright orange sweatshirts hand out self-swab rape kits and packets of chocolates from a paddling pool to fellow Bristol University students moving between lectures.
They say that self-swabs do not always provide reliable evidence that can be used in criminal proceedings and may not be admissible in court, and that, if survivors self-swab instead of interacting with services such as the police or NHS, they miss out on help such as psychological and forensic assessment – which would be provided at a sexual assault referral centre (Sarc).
