Home Affairs Minister 'frustrated' over lack of progress
There's hope a Sexual Assault Referral Centre can be fully operational on the Isle of Man by this summer.
In an open letter to Tanya August-Hanson MLC, Home Affairs and Justice Minister Graham Cregeen admitted his frustration over a lack of progress with the project, and says they 'lost a year' because of Covid-19.
Currently, victims of sexual assault have to travel to the UK to access a centre.
Until recently, it was required for those victims to still be wearing the clothes they were attacked in.
The Public Protection Unit say that practice has now changed, however victims are told not to wash until after they've been examined at the UK forensics centre.
The process has been criticised as flawed, because during the time spent travelling between the Isle of Man and the UK, crucial evidence could be lost.
Graham Cregeen hopes the centre will be ready by July or August this year:
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