Three courageous survivors waive their anonymity to let the TV presenter showcase their cases to the nation – in the hope they can highlight the deep flaws in the legal system

It’s a tough job, being the presenter of a documentary about rape and its victims. But – given the enduring and increasingly scandalous horrors those victims are facing in a country whose appallingly flawed legal approach has effectively decriminalised the act – someone’s got to do it.

This time it is Stacey Dooley’s job. The two-part documentary Rape on Trial focuses on the difficulties presented by cases in which the supposed perpetrator and victim are known to each other. It also looks at the suffering caused by the ever-lengthening delays between rapes being reported and reaching trial, in the surpassingly rare instance (despite recent efforts to improve matters) that the Crown Prosecution Service agrees to let them proceed. The documentary was slated to take a year to film – it ended up taking three, so slow was the progress on any of the cases its makers were following.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html