Victim/Suspect: film screening and panel discussion

Join us for a film screening of Victim/Suspect and learn about similar cases that have happened in the UK. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion/Q&A. Some of our panellists have been involved in UK cases where women accused of lying to police about sexual assault have been prosecuted, while others have opposed prosecutions and imprisonment of women.

The film, 3.30-5pm

A US reporter discovers a pattern of women who reported sexual assault to police nationwide but were then charged with fabricating their allegations—sometimes facing prison.

The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023 and can now be seen on Netflix – watch before attending or see the film at UCL 3.30-5pm. 

Limited seating, so please book early! https://gfrn-victim-suspect.eventbrite.co.uk

The Panel + Q&A, 5.30-7pm

• Lisa Avalos, Fulbright Scholar at Queen Mary University London and Law Professor at Louisiana State University Law Center. She has been writing about the types of cases featured in the film, and advocating for the women involved, since 2013. She and several women she has worked with are featured in the film. Professor Avalos focuses her research and teaching on criminal law and procedure, with an emphasis on sexual offenses. She is currently writing a book titled She Must Be Lying to Us! When Reporting Rape Becomes a Crime.
   
• Elizabeth Cronin, attorney and Associate Academic Program Director at the National Mass Violence Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. She was formerly Director of the New York State Office of Victim Services for over 10 years. Cronin also spent 14 years as Deputy Bureau Chief for the Special Prosecutions Division at the Westchester County, New York District Attorneys’ Office. There, she prosecuted homicide, sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse cases.
   
• Lisa Longstaff, Women Against Rape (WAR). A multiracial organisation, WAR works with survivors fighting for justice, asylum and compensation, including women racially and/or sexually assaulted by police. For years WAR has campaigned to end the policy of prosecuting women after reporting rape/domestic abuse. They demand instead thorough unbiased investigations. WAR’s 15-year campaign won the criminalisation of rape in marriage in 1991. In 1995, Ms Longstaff was in a team bringing the first private prosecution for rape in England & Wales – the rapist of two sex workers was imprisoned for 11-years on the same evidence the CPS had rejected. WAR is a member of Support Not Separation a coalition to stop children being taken from their mothers when they report domestic violence.
   
• Camille Py, UCL undergraduate student and Campaigns Representative of UCL’s Women’s Network, an inclusive space for all women in UCL to come together, discuss feminist issues and advocate for change. The Women’s Network also contributes to policy-making on gender equality with the Students’ Union and works on improving UCL’s Report + Support system and its Active Bystander programme.
   
• Gail Sherwood is a survivor.  She was stalked and raped repeatedly over a period of 12 years by a stranger, but the police to whom she went for help did not believe her and charged her with three counts of perverting the course of justice. She was convicted and spent eight months in prison and six months on house arrest, only to be raped four more times by the same man between 2013 to 2020.  Gail’s assailant has still not been identified. She’s got through all this due to the unwavering support of family, friends, and advocates who have believed her from the very beginning. For more information about Gail’s case, go to the YouTube channel “Lisa Avalos Law Prof” and watch her series “What the Camera Saw.”
   
• Janey Starling, co-Director of gender justice campaign organisation Level Up, which leads the national campaign to end the imprisonment of pregnant women and mothers. Prior to this, Janey authored ’Dignity for Dead Women’, the UK’s first media guidelines on reporting domestic homicide, which tackle victim-blaming news reporting in cases of fatal domestic abuse.

The Gender and Feminisms Research Network brings together scholars and students at UCL and beyond, working across the arts, humanities and social and political sciences. Our aim is to explore the points where gender and feminist politics intersect with a diverse range of power relations and social movements.

Women Against Rape (WAR) is a grassroots multi-racial women’s group founded in 1976. They provide rights information, support and advocacy. They take up individual cases on the basis of collective self-help. 

They campaign for justice, protection and compensation for all women and girls who have suffered sexual, domestic and/or racist violence. This includes survivors of any age, race and nationality, asylum seekers, women with disabilities, trans women, sex workers.