There has been a marked increase in the number of British people reporting sexual assaults abroad.
Foreign Office figures show that since 2016, nearly 1, 000 Britons have reported being being raped or sexually assaulted.
Between 2016 and 2018, the number increased by 44. 5%.
Sky News has spoken to one woman who says she was raped during a holiday in Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa.
Natasha Golding, 43, has waived her anonymity to speak about her ordeal, which she says has been made worse by a lack of support from the British government.
Ms Golding, a legal consultant from Leeds, says she was attacked in her hotel room by a local man during a holiday last September.
Speaking about the incident, she said: “It’s like it’s happening to someone else. You always say what you would do in that situation, you know ‘I would kick and I’d scream’, but actually I froze. My brain was saying do something, do something, and I wanted to scream and it was like I was trying to scream but nothing was coming out.
“The really awful thing is maybe I was really naive but I honestly thought that, being a British citizen, if I reached out to my own government for help I’d get it. When you are raped, you have this overwhelming feeling of isolation, you’re on your own.
“For the past year, with the response of the government which, in my opinion, has been perfunctory at best … it’s happened again. I’ve been isolated, I’ve been left on my own to navigate the penal code of a foreign jurisdiction. I just feel like I’ve been fed to the wolves. “
The Foreign Office publishes figures for Britons reporting crimes abroad. Where the number in any one country is less than five, the exact figure is not specified.
The records show that from the beginning of 2016 to the end of July this year, at least 965 Britons have reported being raped or sexually assaulted abroad.
In 2016 itself, at least 218 reported being the victims of rape or sexual assault. In 2018 the number was at least 315, an increase of 44 .5%.
In the three years from the start of 2016 to the end of 2018, most sexual assaults were reported in Spain – at least 218.
Over the same period in Greece, there were at least 74.
In Turkey, there were at least 68.
In Thailand, there were at least 41.
In France, there were at least 40.
In 2019, records to the end of July show there have been at least 163 reported rapes or sexual assaults reported abroad.
David Swindle, a former detective and now consultant with the group Justice Abroad, says today’s judicial environment encourages victims of a sex crime to report it.
“There is a culture in the UK where victims of such serious crimes are made to feel comfortable in coming forward. So that is why, I think, there is more reporting of it. People are feeling more comfortable that the systems are there to try and support them. it’s not the case in other countries. “
Mr Swindle is advising Ms Golding as she seeks information on the prosecution of the man charged with raping her. He has strongly criticized the handling of her case by the Foreign Office and believes it is typical of inadequate government support given to British citizens who find themselves victims of crime overseas.
He said: “The communication system The victim of a rape, Natasha, is left to her own devices to try to find out what is happening to this individual (the accused). It’s terrible. She has asked the Foreign Office, which has given some information but mixed messages. She has been in direct communication with the prosecutor … she’s getting mixed messages, in fact she’s getting nothing. It’s terrible that someone who is subjected to such a violent sexual assault has to try and find out answers herself. “
Ms Golding reported her assault to the police in Cape Verde and first contacted the Foreign Office after arriving back in the UK. She is now crowdfunding in an effort to raise money to return to the island off West Africa to find out for herself what progress, if any, has been made towards a prosecution.
She said: “I ‘ve received inaccurate information, contradictory information and, even though it’s just over a year, I still don’t know if the defendant is going to stand trial.
“I believe that there should be a trial. I believe that the defendant should be accountable for what he did because if I don’t do something, he might just do it to someone else. “
In a statement, the Foreign Office said:” We take any reports of rape and sexual assault abroad extremely seriously, and always offer private, in-person support as quickly as possible.
“Our staff supported a British woman regarding ongoing legal proceedings in Cape Verde While we cannot interfere in judicial proceedings in another country, our staff are seeking updates on the case and share information where it is legally possible to do so. “
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