Rape on Trial: Episode 1
The perception of how rape happens is changing, with 90 per cent of victims saying they know their attacker. Stacey Dooley meets four women who have reported being raped by someone they know - and follows their emotional journey as they fight to be believed in a system under immense strain.
When Stacey first meets Jessie, Emma and Becca in 2022, their cases have been taken up by the Crown Prosecution Service, but they are all playing a waiting game, with delays stretching from months into years. As they navigate barrister strikes, postponed trials and long waits for their day in court, Stacey witnesses first-hand the impact this has on their lives and their loved ones around them.
In Kent, Stacey meets Jessie, who was 22 when she reported being raped throughout their relationship by an ex-boyfriend, while she was asleep. She explains to Stacey that she had suppressed what happened to her during her relationship, and it was only after she received a Facebook message from his ex-girlfriend describing a similar experience that Jessie was able to open up about what she alleges happened to her. After waiting almost a year and a half, Jessie gets the call to say that, despite the barrister strikes, the trial is still scheduled for the following week. Stacey goes to court to listen to the opening statements, only to discover the trial has been postponed at the last minute. Stacey is at a loss as to what this means for the women. As Jessie's frustration grows, she questions whether she can cope with the process any longer, confiding in Stacey that she is close to retracting her statement.
When Stacey meets Emma, 19, it's been two years since she reported being orally raped by a fellow student at college. Her trial has already been postponed three times when Stacey meets with her. She goes on to reveal the emotional toll the alleged assault has taken, explaining how she once blamed herself and kept the assault secret.
Emma confided in her parents, who encouraged her to report to the police. After she has taken the stand and been cross-examined, she meets up with Stacey and explains the lengths to which the defence have tried to pick apart her credibility and questions whether the jury will believe her word against his. With the verdict in, will she get the outcome she is hoping for?
Meanwhile, Becca, 22, reported her alleged assault eight months after it happened, supported by her new boyfriend, Joe. After finding out her trial is being postponed, Stacey calls Becca and discovers she's determined to push back. She has decided to write directly to the judge, pleading for them to help people like herself who have been brave enough to come forward but are being thwarted by the system. But will it be enough to bring her trial forward? And when will Jessie get the day she hopes for in court
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
20/20
20/20 continues to combine hard-hitting investigative reports, newsmaker interviews and compelling human interest and feature stories.
The Gilded Age
The American Gilded Age was a period of immense economic change, of huge fortunes made and lost, and the rise of disparity between old money and new.
Against this backdrop of change, the story begins in 1882 — introducing young Marian Brook, the orphaned daughter of a Union general, who moves into the New York City home of her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn and Ada Brook. Accompanied by Peggy Scott, an accomplished African-American woman, Marian inadvertently becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her aunts, a scion of the old money set, and her stupendously rich neighbors, a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife, George and Bertha Russell.
In this exciting new world that is on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is set in the 32nd century, a time period in the far-future of the Star Trek franchise where Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets are recovering from a cataclysmic event, as depicted in Star Trek: Discovery. Indroduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.
All American
When a rising high school football player from South Central L.A. is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High, the wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds — Compton and Beverly Hills — begin to collide. Inspired by the life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger.
