What you can do if you have been raped

Before you tell the police
If someone has raped you, you are allowed three hours with a lawyer to decide if you want to report it to the police. Everyone is allowed this, however much salary they earn. The lawyer will then give you information and help you think about it, before you finally decide whether you want to tell the police.

While the police are finding out about the rape
If you choose to report the rape, you are allowed to have a lawyer to help you. You can choose any lawyer you want. The lawyer you decide on is then allowed by the court to work for you. The lawyer’s salary is paid by the government.
It is a good idea if your lawyer comes with you when you report the rape to the police, both to support you and to make sure everything is done correctly. It is important to report the rape quickly, so the police can look for proof, but you can also report a rape that happened some time ago. Rapes that happened up to 10 years ago can be reported.
The person who was raped is called the victim, and the person who raped is called the suspect. The police must give information about what is happening in the case. While the police are trying to find out what happened, you can ask your lawyer to tell them to do some things, for example to talk to some witnesses. You can also ask your lawyer if you want to see the papers about the case.
When the police have finished their work on the case, it is sent to a government lawyer, who then decides about it.  The rape case will then either be continued with, or dropped. If it is dropped, you can appeal (complain) within three weeks. If a rape case is dropped, it does not mean people do not believe you, or that the rape probably did not happen – it means that there is not enough proof. For you to win in court, there must be strong proof of the rape.

During the trial
If the suspect is charged with rape, there will be a trial in court.  In the court, three judges will decide about the case.  The lawyers are a government lawyer and your own lawyer. You only have rights in the rape case itself. You are a witness in the case. You can be present at the whole trial, but you do not have to be present. After the two lawyers have given introductions, you then talk about what happened. You can ask your lawyer to tell the suspect to leave the room while you are talking. The judge will decide about this, but the suspect has a right to stay in the court, and the judge may decide to let the suspect stay. Another possibility is that the suspect sits at the back of the courtroom, so that you do not need to see him when you are talking. You can also have with you a friend or someone to help you when you are talking. Court cases are public, which means that anyone who is interested can be at the court and listen. But in rape cases, it can be decided to have the case behind closed doors, to make it easier for the victim.
Based on everything that is said in court, the judge will then make a decision, called a verdict. You can appeal the verdict to another court, where it will be decided by a jury. The suspect cannot appeal the verdict, but he can complain about the amount of money, called compensation, that he has to pay you.

Compensation for rape victims
If there is a trial, your lawyer will ask for compensation for you. If the suspect is given a punishment, he will most likely have to pay you compensation too. When the verdict is final, meaning that it can no longer be appealed, your lawyer can ask for compensation for you by sending the verdict to the Rape Victims Compensation Office. This office will then pay the money to you, and get it back from the person who raped you. 
If the case is dropped, or the person who raped you is not punished, you can still get compensation. This is because the proof necessary to get compensation does not need to be as strong as the proof for giving someone a punishment. So you should always try to get rape compensation.

June Cathrine Ormstad, Associate Attorney, Salomon-Johansen AS
E-mail: ormstad@salomon-johansen.no