The Gaia Principle will help ensure that survivors of Rape & Serious Sexual Offenses are no longer endangered and denied justice because police fail to investigate a suspect properly. It will help stop "he-said-they-said" cases from being misrepresented or dismissed as "he-said-she-said" because investigating officers failed to join the dots between multiple allegations.

This is what happened to Dorset teenager Gaia Pope-Sutherland, who lost her life at the age of 19 following just such failures. It was also a key factor in police's repeated failure to investigate PC Wayne Couzens before he raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

By compelling officers to investigate thoroughly and check for additional allegations, The Gaia Principle will unite survivors' voices and make sure survivors can hold the police to account for failing to do so. Please use this letter-writing tool and call on this Government to bring the Gaia Principle into law.

Under the previous government, the Gaia Principle was championed as Amendment (NC48) to the Criminal Justice Bill by Jess Phillips MP, who is now the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls.

You can also help by signing our petition for a RASSO unit in Dorset, donating to the crowdfunder and following the campaign on Facebook, twitter and instagram.

Gaia's Story

Gaia Pope-Sutherland lost her life following a series of systemic failings by police, NHS and social services. Gaia died a preventable death during a mental health crisis at the age of 19, within two years of reporting to police that she had been a victim of child sexual exploitation. Dorset Police had dropped Gaia's case and failed to issue any protective orders or even a safeguarding referral for her.

After Gaia's death, it emerged that Dorset Police knew of allegations by a significant number of other young women and girls against the same perpetrator, twice convicted child sex offender Connor Hayes. It also emerged that the Hayes was already supposed to be under investigation by Dorset Police even before he first contacted Gaia via social media.

That Gaia’s allegation, in fact one of many, was presented to the CPS in isolation will inevitably have contributed to the decision not to take her case forwards. This meant major delays in the eventual conviction of a serious sexual predator and had a devastating impact on Gaia’s mental health, which ultimately contributed to her death.

The Gaia Principle will make sure that sexual violence investigations are conducted in line with guidance already accepted into College of Policing's National Operating Model, which was developed from Operation Soteria thanks to years of work by survivors and campaigners. The Gaia Principle will make this investigatory guidance law. Failure to follow it will be a professional standards issue and persistent failure will escalate to a misconduct matter, meaning that if an officer can't do their job they can lose their job.

We need this level of accountability in a country where charges are brought in less than 1.5% of rape cases and nothing less will do. We need the Gaia Principle.

Gaia’s story is a powerful illustration of the need for real accountability in policing. During the inquest into her death, officer after officer admitted they had failed to follow, or were not even aware of, existing guidance. Not one of them faced any consequences.

By improving the investigation of serial offending and organised sexual exploitation, the Gaia Principle will have a huge impact on every survivor's chance at justice as well as public safety.  A 2013 report by the Ministry of Justice found that in 2011 defendants were prosecuted for rape for an average of 2.3 rape offences and more recent data from Operation Soteria suggests that the majority of perpetrators may be linked to multiple offences.

The Gaia Principle will ensure better guidance leads to real change on the ground and empower people to hold the police to account if they are failed the way Gaia was failed. It will help save lives like hers and make all our communities safer.

About the Campaign

This campaign is being taken forward by the Gemini Project, a grassroots, survivor led non-profit working to end sexual violence through advocacy, education and campaigns. After coordinating the Justice for Gaia campaign for five years after Gaia's death, her cousin Marienna joined the Gemini Project to continue this work - you can read more about the background in her blog about the campaign. The Principle was part of the Justice For Gaia Manifesto, which was developed in consultation with Gaia's family, the Centre for Women's Justice and Rape Crisis England & Wales.