Documentary maker Stacey Dooley is emotional at the end of her new series Rape On Trial as she thinks it is too traumatic for women to get a conviction – or even get to court

Stacey Dooley breaks down in tears in her new BBC documentary about rape – saying the legal system “is not serving those it is suppose to protect”.

The TV presenter, 38, becomes emotional after following three women over more than three years who all make allegations of rape and face a long wait to go to court before being aggressively cross examined in court. Several of the girls are then shown breaking down in tears after being told the jury had found the accused men not guilty in all three cases. Stacey then talks of her frustration for the girls involved. Speaking to one of them called Jessie, Stacey says: “I really feel the system is so flawed. It’s 2025, the UK, like this is the best we can do for these girls? Is it difficult not to think, should I have ever put myself through this?” Speaking to camera at the end of the two part documentary, Stacey then adds: “Of course I am going to stand here and say, you know, it all feels just massively unfair. And of course you could argue that I’m slightly biased, because I accept that I have built up a rapport with these girls, and I’m fond of these girls.

“I’ve spent three years with these women. I have seen them at their lowest. I have seen them in despair, but I have seen them when they’ve dared to have a bit of hope, and then I’ve seen it all come crashing down. I’ve seen every single emotion play out over and over again. But it’s really important to have these kinds of conversations, because then we can ask ourselves if we are happy collectively as a society, in terms of how we’re treating these women through the system that currently exists. I just feel like we need to look at alternatives to the system that’s currently in place. It doesn’t feel like it’s serving those, you know, the very people they’re supposed to protect.”

Stacey’s new series of doc is thought proking and likely to prompt a discussion about the UK court system ( 
Image:
BBC/Minnow Films/Colin Hutton)
Stacey’s comments in the documentary follow on from her making headlines earlier today/yesterday as she admitted she would not feel confident to go to the police if she was raped.

She told Radio Times: “If somebody raped me, I don’t think I would go to the police, which is so bleak and such a disappointing realisation…But in terms of what I’ve witnessed, I wouldn’t feel confident.”

Less than 2% of reported sexual assaults result in conviction, though this increases to over 50% for cases that proceed to trial.

Amongst the girls featured on the BBC documentary are 23-year-old Jessie who reported being raped by an ex-boyfriend, 19-year-old Emma who says she has been orally raped by a fellow college student, and 22-year-old Becca who reported being raped by someone she was dating, having had consensual sex earlier that evening. They have all waived their legal right to anonymity, as they fight to have their voices heard during filming in a justice system under immense strain.

Becca even wrote a letter to the judge pleading for action when the court case was delayed time and time again. She said: “It will be the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do, and it’s only being made more difficult by a system that was built to protect victims. So, I will leave you with a plea. Help us. Help the people who were brave enough to come forward. Help the people who have waited long enough.

Becca also says before her case she received guidance on how to present herself as credibly as possible even down to what she should wear. Becca tells Stacey “And it’s been really drummed into me, not even covertly, it’s literally been if you don’t act a certain way they will think a certain way about you”.
Stacey hears that Becca received advice to abstain from attending the rest of the court proceedings after her testimony, cautioning that projecting too much confidence might adversely affect her case’s outcome. Stacey is shocked and said: “The idea you have to play a certain role to be taken seriously or to be believed, that just feels so wildly outdated to me”