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Police need to ask 'difficult questions' but victims shouldn't be made to repeat telling of sex crimes, say volunteers

Police need to ask 'difficult questions' but victims shouldn't be made to repeat telling of sex crimes, say volunteers

 Having to describe the details of their sexual assault many times during the investigation process can be traumatising for victims. It is therefore important that front-line police officers be trained in handling a victim since they are usually the first point of contact, victim care officer Jenny Giam said.

Ms Giam, a trained counsellor who volunteers as a victim care officer with the Singapore Police Force to provide emotional support to sexual assault victims during investigations, added: “Some of the things that we hear from victims are that nobody believes them, so they experience a lot of guilt and shame."

The counsellor at the Singapore Management University was responding to TODAY’s question on the importance of training front-line officers, on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the police on sexual assault awareness on Tuesday (April 12).

At the seminar, Minister for Law and Home Affairs K announced a series of initiatives by the police, aimed at improving how sexual offences are handled here. The measures are part of the police’s review on sexual crimes.

Among them is the setting up of a new police command next year, which will oversee sexual crimes and family violence, as well as regular training for investigation officers and front-line police officers on sexual crime investigations and victim care.

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