The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which assists crime victims in England, Scotland and Wales, has acknowledged that it erred in reducing awards to 14 rape victims who had been drinking at the time of the incident, BBC News reported Aug. 12.

Attention to this subject intensified when a 25-year-old woman appealed the authority's decision to reduce the standard compensation award in her case to £8,250, a 25 percent cut. The unidentified woman was raped five years ago during a night out in London; her attacker was never caught but she was eligible for compensation from the authority.

The woman said the authority informed her in a letter that "the evidence shows that your excessive consumption of alcohol was a contributing factor in the incident." She said of their stance, "It was just so cruel and unthinking and so wrong because there is nothing you can do to prevent yourself being raped. It is not illegal to go out and have a drink, it is illegal to rape somebody."

After the woman won her full compensation award, the authority acknowledged that 14 other rape victims had similarly experienced reductions in their compensation awards. It issued a statement saying that these reductions should not have happened and that they do not reflect the authority's official position.

"This stance supports our view that a victim of rape is not in any way culpable due to alcohol consumption," a statement from the Ministry of Justice reads.