The increase is ‘definitely concerning’, says a representative for sexual assault support service Nia.
There was a 70 per cent increase in sexual offence incidents in Clissold over 2022 compared with 2021, an investigation has revealed.
Hackney Post’s Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the Metropolitan Police revealed there were 41 offences in 2022, compared with 24 sexual offences in 2021.
The offences in this area, which borders Stoke Newington, include nine allegations of rape in 2022 – up from four in the previous year.
Jodie Woodward, Director of operations for sexual assault support service Nia, said the increase is “definitely concerning”.
“We continually see really high referrals for our rape crisis centre from women and girls in Hackney. In our East London services, not a week goes by where we don’t receive referrals,” she added.
Woodward highlighted that it’s difficult to draw concrete conclusions about women’s safety from the data.
“It could mean that rapes are being recorded better in the area, which is a positive thing. We know that assaults reported to the police are just 17 per cent of assaults actually committed. We just want women to be taken seriously.”
Woodward added: “One in four women experience rape, and five in six rapes against women are committed by a man who is already known to them.”
“Women’s freedoms in public spaces are affected by constantly having to think about things like how late they stay out, what route they’re taking home, checking on their friends – all these things severely limit women’s freedoms. It’s not just an issue about safety, it’s also about having to prevent yourself from doing things when we know the responsibility lies with the perpetrator.”
Stalking victim Phoebe Barry is still affected by an incident in 2020, when she was followed by a man in Clissold. She said: “I thought about going to the police, but I then thought, ‘realistically, what are they going to do?’
“Walking around now, I’m always on edge. It made me realise that just because you know a place well doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safer. I kept thinking, ‘What am I going to do if he doesn’t stop. It freaked me out so much.”
Woodward stresses that victims should “know that in the services run by women for women, you would never be under any pressure to report anything. A woman will always be believed by us and supported by us, whatever the outcome is.”
She encourages women affected by incidents like these to access Nia’s services, which include counselling and a helpline. IMECE women’s centre and Jewish Women’s Aid both provide specialist support for BAME women.
