Rape victims under English law are having their criminal injuries compensation claims reduced by up to a quarter, if their prior alcohol intake "contributed to the circumstances that gave rise to the injury", accrosing to reports today (Tuesday).

In the past year 14 rape victims in England victims were told they would get less money because of alcohol consumption. A letter to one victim stated "the evidence that we have shows that your excessive consumption of alcohol was a contributing factor in the incident."

A spokesman for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority said that they  made "decisions on conduct issues in good faith, based on the facts available to them in each individual case, and any applicants unhappy with the decision in their claim can ask for a review by a more senior member of staff." A later staement added that its policy was not to reduce awards to rape victims on the basis of alcohol consumption.