SEXUALLY abused black and minority ethnic (BAME) women are being let down by racialised responses from health professionals, police and social services, a report found today.

BAME women repeatedly came up against strong deterrents to seeking justice or engaging with support services, research by BAME anti-violence organisation Imkaan and the University of Warwick revealed.

Black Caribbean women in particular said that they did not feel heard by police and encountered slow and racialised responses that “cast them as the problem,” according to the study.

Some BAME women described facing threats from family members and perpetrators for taking criminal action on abuse.

Survivors said that their complaints were not always taken seriously by police unless they were supported by specialist women’s services.

Women who used sexual assault referral centres described the experience as “blunt,” focusing on the criminal justice system rather than their support needs, “with a notable lack of understanding about minoritised women’s intersectional experiences.”

One woman said that she spoke to her GP about being raped by her husband, but the doctor wanted to talk to both of them together.

Others said that they felt adjudged as not being “genuine victims.”

A 15-year-old British south Asian girl, who was abused by her grandfather for years before confiding in a school counsellor, said that the police got in contact with her parents who brushed off the allegations after her uncles “got together to get their story straight.”

It was only when she was referred to a specialist BAME women’s support worker that her specific needs were recognised and she was given advice on how to leave the home.

Imkaan chief executive Baljit Banga said that the research “addresses a gap in understanding the experiences of minoritised women and sexual violence.”

She said: “It particularly sheds lights on those experiences of minoritised women that are seldom heard and who do not benefit from specialist support.

“The research refers to this as ‘multiple silencing strategies’ and it is these strategies that are reproduced in times of austerity.”

Researchers presented the report to MPs today, urging them to address the volume and harm of sexual violence that BAME women are subjected to.

They also called on the Home Office to set out clear expectations for state agencies to address support gaps.