My cousin was raped – then harassed on a mixed sex mental health ward that was supposed to keep her safe

My cousin Gaia was one of the eight in 10 women and girls diagnosed with a mental illness after turning to the NHS for help coping with the trauma of rape, writes Marienna Pope-Weidemann

Despite consistent pleas for support, in two years Gaia spent less than 30 days under the care of community mental health services (Supplied)

In February 2017, eight months before she died, Gaia was an inpatient at St Ann’s Hospital – which, like the community services that were failing us so utterly, is run by Dorset Healthcare. In a climate of savage government cuts and a severe bed shortage, unexpected deaths of Dorset service users were soaring and hundreds of patients were being forced as far as Manchester to find care.

While Gaia and I raised concerns about her being in a mixed ward, at least it wasn’t hundreds of miles away. There was nothing we could do except fight – and it was always a fight – to get some recognition of the fact Gaia was a rape survivor; that this trauma was at the root of her mental distress; and that she lived in fear of retaliation from the perpetrator or being abused by someone else.

When she was sexually harassed by a fellow inpatient in the one place she was meant to be safe, it took courage for her to report to staff after all her previous experiences being dismissed and disbelieved. In response, not only did they fail to make a safeguarding referral or log the incident in line with their own policy, they discharged her within 48 hours.