Victims’ Commissioner welcomes national policing stance on self‑swabbing kits, warning they expose deeper failings in the justice system
The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman OBE, has responded to the national policing position on the use of self‑swabbing kits in cases of rape and serious sexual assault. The new policing statement sets out concerns about the safety, evidential reliability and lack of safeguarding associated with self‑swabbing kits used outside regulated environments.
The National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection (NCVPP), in collaboration with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) , published a national position statement warning against the use of self‑swabbing kits marketed to victims of rape and sexual assault.
Their statement highlights several risks, including:
- lack of safeguarding or medical support
- risk of contamination and disrupted evidential continuity
- absence of clinically safe forensic processes
- potential for the kits to divert victims away from Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs)
- increased likelihood that evidence collected may not be admissible in court
Chief Constable Sarah Crew NPCC Lead for Adult Sexual Offences echoed this view, stating that these kits are not compatible with the victim‑centred and suspect‑focused approach required under Operation Soteria and that evidence collected without oversight is at high risk of being challenged in court.
Rape Crisis England & Wales also issued a statement supporting the NPCC’s position, emphasising the dangers of incomplete evidence collection, the absence of specialist trauma‑informed support, and the risk of giving survivors false hopes about how such evidence may be used. They stressed that SARCs and specialist services remain the safest and most ethical way for survivors to receive support and, where they choose, preserve forensic evidence.
The Victims’ Commissioner welcomed the national policing position on self‑swabbing, emphasising that asking victims and survivors to collect intimate evidence alone, without support, is not safe, highly unethical, and risks further harm and trauma at an already extremely vulnerable time.
She also accentuated that self‑swabbing places too much burden on victims and survivors, undermines suspect‑focused investigations and creates false expectations about what such evidence can achieve, whereas Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) remain the safest and most effective option for victims and survivors, offering medical care, safeguarding and specialist support.
In her statement Claire Waxman highlighted that the fact there is a market for these self-swabbing kits at all shows how far the criminal justice system is falling short, urging that no victim or survivor should feel they must turn to commercial providers because they do not trust the justice or health agencies intended to protect them.
The Commissioner has raised concerns with Government and partners for some time about the risks posed by unregulated self‑swab kits – including the lack of safeguarding, the absence of clinically safe forensic processes, and the danger of diverting victims away from SARCs.
Self‑swabbing places too much burden on victims and survivors, undermines suspect‑focused investigations and creates false expectations about what such evidence can achieve.
Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) remain the safest and most effective option for victims and survivors, offering medical care, safeguarding and specialist support. Victims deserve clear, accurate information about their options so they can make informed choices about their care and any evidence they may choose to preserve.
The fact that there is a market for these self-swabbing kits shows how far the system is falling short. No victim or survivor should feel they must turn to commercial providers because they do not trust the justice or health agencies intended to protect them.
I fully support an approach that puts victims’ wellbeing first and is grounded in trauma‑informed practice. Victims deserve nothing less.