Archway has victims of sexual assault in safe hands

The front door simply states: "Archway Glasgow" – deliberately unmarked, giving no clues of what happens inside.

Upon arrival, the victim is met by a support worker, who leads them down the crisp, clean white corridors to a forensically safe, sterile space with wipe-clean surfaces, so that there is no possible contamination of evidence before the examination.

Pictures of flowers have been hung on the soothing-coloured walls to dilute the clinical atmosphere. A support worker sits with the victim, explaining what is about to happen, while a police officer slips across the corridor to brief the doctor.

Ruth Hendry, the centre's manager, explains: "Archway is very different from going to a crowded police station.

"Archway treats a person like a patient, someone to whom this has happened."

Archway, Scotland's only Sexual Assault Referral Clinic, is staffed 24-7, with doctors constantly on call, so that victims can be seen quickly whenever they are attacked – usually in the middle of the night.

The unit is equipped to gather the most comprehensive forensic evidence, offer advice on sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, and provide counselling and assistance throughout a legal process.

For those women who decide not to press charges, the support is still on offer. Clothes are stored, and forensic evidence is kept, in case they change their mind and want to take legal action at a later date.

Each examination can last up to three or four hours, taken at the individual's pace, and is painstakingly methodical and precise to ensure that nothing is missed and that all the evidence found is carefully measured and noted, so it will stand up to scrutiny in court.

Ruth tells how women are not put under any pressure to report the case to the police if they don't want to, but staff will try to help them see that they will be believed.

"This is never going to be a good experience for anyone, but we aim to make it the best we possibly can.

"Our staff are trained and work in a way to relieve the trauma, as much as possible."

Ruth tells how most people have ill-informed preconceptions about how a rape victim will behave.

"Some people think they would shout and fight, but you just don't know until you're in that situation. Often people freeze and do nothing.

"They don't always want to report the attack straight away. They often want to forget it."

Detective Chief Inspector Elaine Simpson is the officer in charge of sex crimes at Strathclyde Police's Public Protection Unit and works with Archway to try to increase the prosecution rate.

She believes victims need to be handled sensitively right from the start – and Archway is hugely successful in doing so.

"We have seen a massive increase in the number of victims referring themselves to Archway and then going on to report a rape or sexual assault.

"Archway is building public confidence in police and this gives people the fortitude to go ahead and report the attack."

Even those who do not go on to report a rape to police will receive support from the staff for several weeks if they want it.

Ruth believes the impact of the staff member's work can often be seen in the demeanour of the woman as she leaves the unit.

"The person who walks out two or three hours later can be very different to the one who walked in."

You can contact Archway Glasgow at 2-6 Sandyford Place, near Charing Cross, or by calling 0141 211 8175.

Louise's Story: Raped then humiliated in court ... I tried to kill myself 3 times

WHEN she was dragged into a Glasgow lane and savagely raped by a man she thought was her friend, Louise thought she had endured the worst ordeal any woman could face.

"I thought I was going to die," she said.

"I closed my eyes and tried to pretend I was somewhere else, thinking about my boyfriend, Paul, and my family.

"I was scared that I was never going to see them again, that I was going to die there in that dark, dirty lane."

But in many ways, for 22-year-old Louise, in the aftermath of that horrific experience, the worst was still to come.

Today she speaks about the "torture" she was put through when her case reached court – which ultimately lead to three failed suicide attempts.

Louise, from Glasgow, was just 21 when she was attacked in the city last year.

She knew her attacker and had bumped into him in a club earlier that night.

After chatting with the man, she agreed to let him walk her to the nearest taxi rank.

However, during the journey, Louise began to feel that something was wrong and tried to phone her boyfriend.

Louise's "friend" grabbed her phone, threw it to the ground, dragged her into a nearby lane and attacked her.

She said: "As soon as I could get away, I picked up my phone and ran. My boyfriend phoned the police and within a few hours, I had reported what happened.

"The officers were incredibly sympathetic and supportive.

"But nothing could prepare me for the humiliating and degrading experience I was about to endure in court.

"It has ruined my life."

Describing her "grilling" in court, Louise, said: "Everything about me – and I mean everything – was dredged up in court.

"The defence asked what underwear I was wearing on the night, how many men I have slept with and the how old I was when I lost my virginity.

"They even asked if I'd let him pay for drinks, how many times – if at all – I had said "no" and if I had my legs crossed when we had been chatting.

"I was knocked for six – how did any of this have anything to do with what had happened to me? And were they trying to say it excused him, if I gave the wrong answer?

"I was torn to shreds by his lawyer – I even had to hold up my pants in court to a room full of people.

"That humiliation will stay with me for the rest of my life."

Louise said she was treated like "a piece of evidence" rather than a person during the trial.

She continued: "After he raped me, he had to explain nothing because they never asked him

"He was meant to be on trial – not me.

"It was like being raped all over again. I was, and still am, utterly humiliated by the whole experience.

"And to make everything worse, the jury found him not guilty.

"I went through all that torture for nothing."

Since the jury reached their verdict earlier this year, Louise has tried to kill herself three times.

"I slit my wrists days after the trial was over," she explained.

"Then, a few weeks later I took an overdose and ended up hospital.

"The defence made me out to be an alcoholic and a liar.

"They delved into every detail of my personal life – it's totally unnecessary.

"The whole thing – the rape and the trial – ruined my life.

"I'm sure it is this fear of being treated like a criminal in the witness box that prevents more women from reporting rape."

Currently, Scottish politicians are considering changes to the way rape cases are handled in the country. Ministers are looking at ways of making it easier to secure rape convictions, after Scotland was criticised for having one of Europe's lowest conviction rates – around 3%.

Eileen Maitland, an Information & Resource Worker at Rape Crisis Scotland, said: "Rape is a crime which can have a devastating impact on women.

"Unfortunately, in spite of a range of positive steps taken in recent years to improve survivors' experiences of the justice process, such as the establishment of the National Sexual Crimes Unit, attitudes which blame women in the context of rape persist.

"Women's behaviour, dress and demeanour are all too often the focus of scrutiny in court, and this can have a damaging impact on their chances of obtaining justice as well as compounding the emotional devastation they experience.

"No woman should ever have to hold up her underwear in court – it is hard to see what such a request can achieve beyond humiliating and demeaning someone who is simply seeking justice for a crime committed against her.

"What a woman was wearing when she was attacked is of no relevance whatsoever, and attempts to make it seem so simply reinforce damaging myths while allowing perpetrators to remain invisible and unaccountable for their behaviour.

"Rape Crisis Scotland campaigns vigorously to combat such attitudes, and to shift the focus onto the behaviour that really does merit scrutiny – that of rapists."

- The victim's name has been changed to protect her identity.