'I dropped my rape case after being told I'd face three-year wait for trial'

'I dropped my rape case after being told I'd face three-year wait for trial' EXCLUSIVE: Trapped in an huge backlog of cases and overwhelmed by the police handling of her case, student Florence Carter made the heartbreaking decision to drop her allegations. Now, as new specialist rape courtrooms are promised nationwide, the 21-year-old speaks out on the crippling delays destroying survivors' lives When university student Florence Carter reported being raped, she believed she was taking her first brave step towards getting justice. Just two weeks later, she made the agonising decision to drop the case entirely. Faced with the overwhelming strain of a police investigation alongside her university degree - and the terrifying prospect of waiting three years for a trial - Florence, from Manchester, felt she had no choice but to walk away. Her experience comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans for every Crown Court in England and Wales to feature dedicated courtrooms for rape and serious sexual offences within two years. The specialised courtrooms will include private entrances and waiting rooms for victims, facilities to pre-record evidence and the opportunity to observe sentencing remotely. Trials will also be set on fixed dates rather than being placed on floating court lists, which can be moved at short notice. According to Government figures, rape cases took an average of 424 days to conclude in 2025, with a devastating number of survivors withdrawing beforehand. The PM said victims had been "let down by our justice system for too long", promising that the changes would "rebalance the scales of justice and put victims first". For Florence, the announcement bring back memories of the most difficult chapter of her life. She says the assault occurred during Freshers' Week in September 2025, after a stranger at a house party tricked her into returning to his home. "It was a very difficult decision to make," Florence says. "You are racked with all sorts of shame. You're scared - there's all sorts of things that go through your head." Florence showered immediately after returning home, before eventually confiding in her parents the following evening. "It was very hard to break the news and admit it," she says. She reported the incident online eight days later - unaware that forensic evidence collection must take place within a seven-day window. "I wasn't aware of that at all. No one knows about it," she explains. When police officers arrived at her home within 20 minutes of her report, the investigation began to dominate her life. "There was no hard DNA evidence - it was his word against mine," she says. Detectives called her several times a day required filmed interviews. "It was so overwhelming," she says. "That was the main issue. I was freshly out of this situation, in shock, and it was ruining my day-to-day." The man was arrested, held overnight, and released under bail restrictions preventing him from approaching her home. Yet rather than feeling safe, Florence lived in terror of bumping into him while trying to complete her English Literature dissertation. "I was terrified to bump into him," she says. "I couldn't cope. It was ruining my life. I felt pressured by the police to keep going with the case, but I felt a lot of shame in closing it because of that. They wanted to catch him." "People didn't understand this was my life," she added. "I was terrified, and it was a huge weight on me having to talk about it all the time. It infiltrated my day every single day." When officers informed her the case could take three years to reach a courtroom, it became her breaking point. "It wouldn't have gone to court for three years," she says. "That was one of the reasons I closed my case." The Government's new specialist court plans offer Florence a sense of hope for future survivors, particularly the promise of faster trial dates and separate entrances to avoid confronting defendants "That's vital," she says. "I'm not sure why that hasn't been in place thus far. One of my main concerns was seeing him in the courtroom." For Florence, however, reform must start long before a case reaches the courtroom. She is calling for clearer public guidance on what to do if you are assaulted - including the importance of preserving forensic evidence even if you are not immediately ready to report to the police. "We're taught too much how to avoid this happening to us, but there's a lack of information on how to proceed afterwards," she says. Florence also wants universities to do more to support students who disclose sexual violence, by taking a proactive approach rather than relying on traumatised students to seek out support. She says she tried to seek help from her university but found the support difficult to navigate, and says she was left for months without anyone contacting her. Afterwards, she says the university told her its approach was "student led". "But that's wrong," Florence says. "It shouldn't be student led when you don't know how to help yourself." "They like to say they've called you and that's enough, but someone traumatised doesn't pick up the phone to a random number," she says. Despite the immense emotional toll, Florence completed her degree and is now preparing to begin a Master's in Human Resources and Industrial Relations. Refusing to let the experience silence her, she now speaks publicy about her experience, to offer a beacon of hope to other survivors. "I didn't want to be quiet about it," she says. "I wanted to help other people." I felt like I needed to see someone like me online. I became the person I would have found comfort in at the time." "I am functioning, thriving," she says. "I want others to see proof that it does get better." If something sexual happened to you without your consent, or you are not sure, you can talk to Rape Crisis England & Wales. It does not matter when it happened. If you need support, please contact Rape Crisis' 24 hour sexual abuse support line. You can contact them at any time, day or night, all year round, on 0808 500 2222