Rape victims in Scotland continue to be medically examined by men in the aftermath of attacks - despite recommendations otherwise dating back decades.
New research also shows that many women have to wait up to 24 hours before being examined, due to the lack of available doctors, and are urged not to bathe until they are seen, adding to their trauma.
The study by Glasgow Caledonian University MPhil student Georgia Scott-Brien looks at the views of both police and complainers and shows that officers often face conflict over their duty to investigate serious crime and consideration of victims' welfare.
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In some cases, officers who were interviewed for the research accepted that the treatment of some victims had been "despicable" and "horrendous".
All of the women interviewed who received a medical examination had it carried out by male doctors, even though it has been established for decades by studies around the world that this can add to their suffering.
Ms Scott-Brien, a former support worker at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, said: "It is very concerning that issues raised in the early 1980s continue to impact upon women reporting rape today.
“Women continue to experience delays in the forensic medical examination and are not given an option of a female forensic physician."
Recent figures suggest that only 30 of 79 specialists who carry out the highly intimate examinations in Scotland are female.
This has led calls for a change in the system, which has been backed by the head of Police Scotland's National Rape Taskforce.
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The Scottish Government has pledged £20 million to address the issue by introducing more specially trained forensic physicians and upgrading outdated facilities in police stations.
Ms Scott-Brien's research, the first of its kind published in Scotland since 1983, is based on records of 110 rapes of adult women reported to a police area in a year.
Interviews were carried out with 27 police officers, seven of them sexual offences liaison officers (SOLOs), and seven complainers.
Many officers condemned the justice system for further victimising rape complainers, while some accepted "albeit uncomfortably, that an adverse impact was an unfortunate but an inevitable aspect of the process".
One detective said: "It is horrendous. It is a long horribly drawn out process. It is despicable frankly."
A SOLO said: "It is a horrendously invasive investigation they have to go through."
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While another officer added: "For a female to expose herself to possibly a male who is taking internal, external, vaginal, anal swabs, clippings from pubic hairs, swabs from breasts, they are not in control so I think there would probably be a lot of embarrassment, shame."
The research, which recommends that women have the right to be interviewed and examined by females, also revealed that a lack of communication was an issue for complainers, many of whom said the more information they were given and the more the legal process was explained to them, the more it helped minimise the trauma.
Ms Scott-Brien added: "Lack of communication with complainers also remains a concerning issue. One woman spoke of finding out about the accused being remanded in custody through the 'grapevine'.
“This is indicative of a process which continues to prioritise the police investigation and can lead to the welfare of the complainer being considered secondary.
In order to challenge this imbalance, the recommendations put forward in the 1980s need to be recognised and applied in practice.
“While police officers and rape complainers recognised the further distress caused by the reporting process, a police response delivered in a sensitive manner which provides women with choices and control can alleviate this."
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