Please use and share this 2 minute letter writing tool to call on the government to bring the Gaia Principle into law. It will help ensure that survivors of Rape & Serious Sexual Offenses are no longer endangered and denied justice because police fail to investigate a suspect properly and has been proposed as Amendment (NC48) to the Criminal Justice Bill.
The Gaia Principle compels investigating officers to investigate suspects thoroughly, checking for other allegations of abuse against them. By doing so it will unite survivors’ voices for justice and make sure those failed as Gaia was failed can hold the police to account.
Gaia’s story is a powerful illustration of the need for real accountability in policing. During the inquest into her death, officer after officer admitted they had failed to follow, or were not even aware of, existing guidance. Not one of them faced any consequences.
To learn more, check out this great article on the campaign by Maya Oppenheim for the Independent.
Gaia: a Death on Dancing Ledgeairs this week on BBC Three & iPlayer. (Content Warning: contains distressing references to sexual violence, trauma, missing persons, bereavement.)
If like us, you want to help make sure that what happened to Gaia never happens to anyone else, we need you to take action.
Please visit our linktree or select ‘Act’ from the main menu to support the campaign. We are 100% grassroots & people powered. Over 2,500 people have already taken action and we need everyone.
If you have been affected by or have any further information about the alleged perpetrators featured in the film, the Centre for Women’s Justice is inviting confidential testimony. This is completely private and independent of the police so please consider coming forwards. Together we are strong 🌹
“I hear too often from survivors how police and other criminal justice failures had a worse mental health impact than the crime itself. In Gaia’s case, it cost her life. Her legacy must lead to real change.”
– Harriet Wistrich, director, Centre for Women’s Justice.
“Gaia’s death was preventable. Her inquest exposed over 50 failings in her care. Like thousands of survivors of sexual violence, Gaia was denied the justice and support she desperately needed. Everyone should have access to adequate and effective policing and well resourced specialist support services.”
– Verity Nevitt, Co-founder, The Gemini Project.
“Gaia’s death is part of a broader pattern of deaths of survivors of sexual violence who are being systematically failed by public services. INQUEST has hundreds of cases involving the deaths of young women with experiences of abuse and associated trauma. This injustice cannot continue.”
– Deborah Coles, director, INQUEST.
“At Rape Crisis England & Wales we have supported thousands of women and girls whose experiences have been similar to Gaia’s, who have been failed by the system, denied access to justice and left with their voices unheard. We support the Justice for Gaia campaign as it holds the institutions that should have protected Gaia to account, they can and must do better.”
From the outset, the coroner directed that the failures of Dorset Police prior to Gaia’s disappearance be protected from scrutiny by the jury. She refused the police whistleblower, ‘Officer X’, who revealed Gaia’s contact with the Dorset Police that day, the anonymity they said they needed to come and give evidence. We had to fight tooth and nail to keep the issue of sexual violence on the table and at one point the coroner even tried to order bereaved relatives to use gaslighting language like “Gaia believed she was a survivor of rape” but we refused to be complicit in the same culture of denial and disbelief that killed her.
[Content Note: this video contains calls to emergency services that may be distressing.]
The jury sat through 8 weeks of evidence about a litany of police failures in the search, which by Dorset Police’s own admission was deficient and disorganised. Only one failing was considered by the police to amount to misconduct, that of acting sergeant Sean Mallon, who took literally no action to assist or direct anyone else to assist in the search for Gaia during his shift on the night she disappeared. He has since retired from the force with full benefits.
Despite all this, at the end of the inquest, the coroner prohibited the jury from considering whether any of these failings even possibly contributed to Gaia’s death. We consider this to be the single greatest opportunity missed, failing us, Gaia and the public interest.
The jury was unanimous in their support for the family’s position on every issue that was left to them. They found that Gaia’s death was probably caused by her mental state and “situational crisis” on the day she disappeared and that the failure to refer Gaia for community mental healthcare after she was hospitalised a fortnight before, possibly contributed to her death. The conclusions also recorded a series of failings admitted by both Dorset Police and Dorset Healthcare University Trust.
Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust accepted that there were missed opportunities in terms of the assessment and onward plan of care on 22 October 2017, specifically:
Not discussing the assessment with Gaia’s family;
Not making a referral to Steps to Well Being;
Not liaising with the neurology/epilepsy team involved in Gaia’s care, which resulted in further missed opportunities to open up an opportunity to review her epilepsy care and refer her for consideration of an electroencephalogram (EEG); and
Not fully updating the GP about the outcome of the Mental Health Act assessment.
The following failings were admitted by the Chief Constable on behalf of Dorset Police:
The second call made by Talia Pope (101 call at 16:24) should have been treated as a report of a missing person.
Once Gaia had been reported as a missing person, she should have been graded as High Risk, not Medium.
The Dorset Police response in the first 24-48 hours following Gaia being categorised as a missing person was deficient in that it was disorganised and lacked clear strategy, leadership and focus. Proper leadership and focus in particular would have provided the opportunity for:
Oversight of the investigation and search efforts by senior and specialised personnel at an earlier stage
Resources within Dorset Police and through partner agencies to be mobilised and allocated to the search for Gaia at an earlier stage
The scale of the search for Gaia to have been escalated at an earlier stage
What we said before the inquest
Four years of waiting. Three closed-door reports, two from the Independent Office for Police Conduct and one from Dorset Healthcare Trust. And now, at last, time’s up.
Come along to hear for yourself and in support of Gaia’s family.
📍 Where: Town Hall Annexe, St Stephen’s Road, Bournemouth BH2 6EA.
📆 When: We expect court to be in session every day from 10am Monday-Thursday, 26 April until 8 July inclusive.
This will be a traumatic ordeal for us but with your support we hope the inquest can finally give us some answers about what happened to Gaia and what needs to change to save lives in future.
HOW CAN I HELP?
Attend the inquest, which is open to the public, to hear the evidence for yourself and support the family
Share media coverage and posts on facebook, twitter or instagram to help raise awareness and encourage friends to follow us on social media
An inquest is a formal investigation conducted by a coroner to determine how someone died. Inquests are held only in certain circumstances, such as deaths by unnatural causes or in the care of state agencies. It is an important principle of open justice that inquests are open to the public and to the press.
Inquests do not determine criminal responsibility but they can still be very important when it comes to defending human rights and the public interest. When combined with support from the public and local community, past inquests like those of Stephen Lawrence, Connor Sparrowhawk and Seni Lewis to name just a few, have helped pave the way for lifesaving changes to the law.
GAIA’S INQUEST
Gaia’s inquest will be held in front of a jury under Article 2 (Right to Life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. What is known as an Article 2 inquest is only held when the coroner believes there is a case to be made that the state bears some responsibility for the person’s death.
Senior Dorset coroner Rachel Griffin says: “It is arguable that acts or omissions by Dorset Police may have been or were contributory to Gaia’s death. I am satisfied there has been an arguable breach of the obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
Not all inquests are held under Article 2 and even those which are often last just a few days. The fact Gaia’s is scheduled to last for 10 weeks reflects the complexity of this case and just how much important evidence has come to light that we can expect to hear about.
For all the latest updates, follow us on twitter @JusticeForGaia
If you are a journalist who is interested in covering the inquest, please contact us at justice4gaia@gmail.com and ask to join our press list. Please respect the family’s privacy by only reaching out through Justice for Gaia.
Opening 26 April 2022 (Sitting four days a week, see notes) Scheduled for three months (to 8 July 2022)
Gaia Kima Pope-Sutherland, 19, was reported missing on 7 November 2017 in Swanage, Dorset. Following a police investigation and a public search for Gaia in which thousands of people participated, her body was found 11 days later less than a mile from where she was last seen.
Gaia had a history of mental ill health and was a survivor of rape. Her family have concerns about the response of relevant authorities to this, as well as the police response to her subsequently going missing.
Over four years later, following various investigations by the Independent Office for Police Conduct and others, the final hearing of the inquest into her death will open on Tuesday 26 April 2022 before HM Senior Coroner Rachael Griffin and a jury. This will follow a final pre-inquest review hearing the day before.
Over the following months of evidence, the inquest will examine issues surrounding Gaia’s death including:
Gaia’s personal and medical history
Gaia’s epilepsy treatment and management
The impact of the rape allegation on Gaia from 2015 onwards
Gaia’s mental health treatment from 2015 onwards
The events of 7-18 November 2017 to cover Gaia’s disappearance and the search up to and including the discovery of her body, with a focus on 7-11 November when she could possibly have been alive
Dorset police control room operations
The actions of Dorset Police officers and control room staff including the evaluation of risk
Training in relation to missing persons within Dorset Police
The inquest will also consider the missing persons’ policy, procedure and operations, as well as the response of Dorset Search & Rescue (DORSAR) and Coast Guard, and the memorandum of understanding between them and police.
As well as examining the missing persons investigation, the coroner and jury will hear evidence from Gaia’s family and professionals involved in her care, and from expert witnesses on mental health and epilepsy.
Gaia’s family describe her as a bright, brave, kind, creative and loving. The challenges she faced as a young woman living with epilepsy and as a survivor of sexual violence had inspired her to pursue a career in health and social care.
In a joint statement, the family of Gaia Pope said: “For four years we have been left with questions no grieving family should ever have to ask. Our hearts are shattered to have Gaia taken from us in this way, before she ever got the chance to step beyond the shadow of what was done to her.
There are no words for that kind of loss, particularly not when we hear from so many other survivors that they are still denied access to justice and support.
We need to know if more could have been done to protect Gaia and so does our community, who worked so tirelessly to find her. These are matters not just of our private grief, but of public concern.
We hope the inquest will give Gaia the voice she so deserved in life and help save the lives of others in the future. As painful as it is for us, it’s worth it if it leads to the positive change she wanted.”
Sarah Kellas, of Birnberg Peirce solicitors who represent the family, said: “Gaia’s family have waited four long years for this inquest to take place. It is hoped that they will now get the answers they so desperately need, and effect real change for the future.”
Deborah Coles, Director of INQUEST, says: “Gaia’s death raises serious questions about the response of authorities to women in crisis, which go far beyond her local area. We hope this inquest will deliver truth for this family, and inform change to prevent future deaths and harms against women.”
This press release was issued by the charity INQUEST and is also available via their website.
An anonymous police whistleblower known only as Officer X says that Gaia called Dorset Police several times on the day she vanished and that on at least one occasion they simply hung up on her. No records of these calls had been disclosed to us and have been kept secret from us for four years after Gaia’s death. We are deeply grateful for the courage and integrity of Officer X which could save lives in future and we call on others to speak up. 🌹
The Justice for Gaia manifesto, which puts forwards demands around policing, mental health and social support, was created because lives like Gaia’s are still being risked and lost because of outdated policies, devastating funding cuts and a toxic culture of misogyny within many of our public services.
The manifesto emerged from what we learned during the inquest into Gaia’s death, as well as talks with leading womens’ rights organisations, mental health experts and disability rights campaigners about what needs to change to save lives like Gaia’s. We are demanding that survivors get the support they deserve and that their voices are heard so we can all live in safer and fairer communities.
Dorset Police has a problem with women. Actually Dorset Police has many problems but one of them is institutional misogyny and that is why this force – which has a “shocking” number of perpetrators in its own ranks – is repeatedly failing to investigate abuse and to support survivors like Gaia, who they failed so badly and so repeatedly that she ultimately lost her life.
Don’t take our word for it. The former Police & Crime Commissioner for Dorset, Martin Underhill, said so himself in Episode 3 of the BBC’s Gaia: a Death on Dancing Ledgeand the evidence is mounting. Here’s what we know.
At the time that Gaia needed them, Dorset Police had the worst rape conviction rate in the country and it still has one of the worst. Over the past 10 years, the number of sex offenses reported to them has doubled – but the number of charges they bring has halved.
We also keep a log of the stories that make it into local media and together they paint a troubling picture of a toxic and sexist culture in Dorset Police. You can scroll through here and click the link to access the full story in its original form.
We have not included stories about police failings in Gaia’s case, though they are many, from those early days when officers failed to investigate her rape case properly – through the two years of repeated crises in which they failed every time to grant her a restraining order, any form of protection or make a safeguarding referral – to the officers who were secretly altering search records weeks after her death two years later. You can find a few media highlights on Gaia’s story at the bottom of this page.
Dorset Police: Failing Survivors of Abuse
Content warning: contains extremely distressing references to abuse of power including rape, murder and child abuse by police.
In August 2023 it emerged that despite all the moaning we heard during the inquest into Gaia’s death about the impact of police funding cuts, it turns out Dorset residents are paying more for the police now than ever before! That’s £83.4 million from local pockets for a force that is grossly ineffective at tackling our communities’ two biggest problems: sexual violence and the mental health crisis.
In August 2023 it also emerged that Dorset Police officers had wasted more than £3,000 of public money by putting the wrong type of fuel in their police cars.
In May 2023, one Dorset Police officer testified almost being driven to suicide by the bullying & toxic culture within the force. Five officers stand accused of breaching professional standards and circulating sexist, pornographic, misogynistic, homophobic and racist messages. They also pinned a poster of skinheads displaying Swastikas and giving the Nazi salute on the wall of their police station.
In January 2023, Dorset Police Constable Ravi Canhye was charged with eight counts of sexual assault including two counts of rape. Canhye won the National Policing Award in 2009 “for his work identifying people with mental health issues”.
In January 2022, another Dorset police officer was found guilty of gross misconduct for sexually harassing female colleagues and “would have been dismissed by the force had he not already resigned.”
In November 2021, a Dorset superintendent was found guilty of gross misconduct after claiming thousands of pounds of false expenses. Not a gender-based violence issue but still it doesn’t inspire much confidence, does it?
In October 2021 a Dorset police officer was set to face gross misconduct charges related to the Sarah Everard investigation.
In January 2020 two more Dorset police officers were found guilty of gross misconduct after they falsified reports to cover up their failure to properly safeguard a victim of domestic abuse.
2015-2019 there were 13 arrests of Dorset Police staff for crimes including assault and rape but most of these cases were dropped with no disciplinary action.
Click here to access an interactive map of sexual and violent crime in the Dorset area. These are the most frequently reported crimes in many Dorset towns.
Some Coverage of Dorset Police Failures in Gaia’s Case
These are just some of the failings we uncovered during the investigation. After hearing 8 weeks of evidence about these failings at the inquest into Gaia’s death, Dorset coroner Rachael Griffin prohibited the jury from even considering whether any of them may have contributed to Gaia’s death:
November 2021 marks 4 years since we lost Gaia. When we spoke out on 25th (World Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) about systemic failures in how the justice system engages with survivors, Dorset Police announced the “disciplining” of a Dorset Police officer involved in the search for Gaia, saying he had been given a “final written warning.”
The family was devastated to learn that these proceedings had taken place behind closed doors, denying us the right to be present, make eye contact, try and understand how things could have gone so wrong and perhaps to speak about the consequences, which left us with a lifetime of grief over an unspeakable loss that will never heal. We feel very let down. It’s another example of Dorset Police saying one thing and doing another.
The Centre for Women’s Justice invites confidential testimony from witnesses and survivors of prolific sex offender Connor Hayes.
Hayes, from Bournemouth, was repeatedly imprisoned and re-released for separate sex offences after Gaia’s rape allegation against him was dropped by Dorset Police.
Dorset Police has one of the UK’s worst prosecution rates for sexual offences, charging cases in just 46 of the 2058 recorded 2019-2020.
The Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) has issued a call for anyone who was victimised by or witness to crimes committed by sex offender Connor Hayes to come forward. This marks the fourth anniversary of the disappearance and death of teenager Gaia Pope, who made an allegation of rape against Hayes in December 2015. The case was quickly dropped by Dorset Police however Hayes, from Bournemouth, was subsequently imprisoned, released and imprisoned again for separate sex offences.
Hayes made threats against Gaia’s life and repeated attempts to contact her. Gaia’s family say that the trauma this caused alongside the police failure to prosecute her case and fears other women and girls were at risk, was a crucial factor in the teenager’s health challenges, disappearance and death.
A full inquest into Gaia’s death will begin in Dorset in April 2022. Senior Dorset Coroner Rachael Griffin has said: “It is arguable that acts or omissions by Dorset Police may have been or were contributory to Gaia’s death. I am satisfied there has been an arguable breach of the obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
CWJ, a legal charity that holds the state accountable for violence against women and girls, are supporting the Justice for Gaia campaign and invites anyone who has been a victim or can provide useful evidence about Connor Hayes’ sexual offending to come forward. Please email us at info@centreforwomensjustice.org.uk providing reference to Connor Hayes.
Harriet Wistrich, co-founder, Centre for Women’s Justice, says: “The process of reporting rape and supporting a police investigation can be extremely traumatic. Most women who report do so to prevent harm to others. When police fail, this can be devastating. I have no doubt Gaia’s deterioration in mental health was at least in part caused by her learning of the extent of police failures that allowed Hayes to continue to offend. CWJ are happy to assist the Justice for Gaia campaign in their search for justice and to raise awareness of the impact of criminal justice failings in the investigation of rape.”
Marienna Pope-Weidemann, Gaia’s cousin, says: “Like millions of women across the UK we have lost faith in the police so we are deeply grateful to the Centre for Women’s Justice for providing a safe alternative for people to come forward. Now is the time to speak out against abusers and police failures. If you have any information about Connor Hayes’ crimes, please speak up. There is no justice that can bring our darling Gaia back to us but we will not sit back while a whole generation is failed by those meant to protect us. It’s time to make a change.”
(1) Freedom of Information request data is available upon request.
Pre-Inquest Review Hearing on the disappearance and death of Dorset teenager Gaia Pope was held today at Bournemouth Town Hall.
Gaia’s family believe she died due to failings by police and mental health services following an incident of rape.
The Coroner has confirmed that she will now instruct two independent medical experts to provide opinions on Gaia’s care ahead of the full inquest in April 2022.
Wednesday 19 May: inquest proceedings into the death of 19-year-old Gaia Pope from Swanage resumed today with a Pre-Inquest Review hearing at Bournemouth Town Hall. Senior coroner for Dorset Rachael Griffin has confirmed that she will now be instructing two independent medical experts to provide opinions regarding the adequacy of the epilepsy care Gaia received as well as another expert to comment on the sufficiency of this care in light of Gaia’s mental health difficulties.
It was also confirmed that the family will be allowed to show the jury an innovative video multimedia‘pen portrait’ of Gaia at the inquest which is due to run for three months from 24 April 2022.
Gaia approached Dorset Police in December 2015 to report she had been raped by a known sex offender. Dorset Police dropped Gaia’s case, which preceded a decline in her mental and physical health (Gaia suffered from epilepsy and post-traumatic stress.) Following several hospitalisations Gaia disappeared on 7 November 2017 and following an enormous police search and community effort to find her, after eleven days her body was recovered by which point she had died of hypothermia.
Natasha Pope, Gaia’s mum, says: “This long drawn out process is difficult for us to bear but we are confident that progress is being made. We want to make sure our tragic loss leads to positive change for others in our community. To this end Gaia has already become a formidable force. Only a glimmer of light is required to break through the darkness.”
Marienna Pope-Weidemann, Gaia’s cousin, says: “As a survivor Gaia was denied justice from the police and support from the NHS. What connects these things is a culture, one that says if the effects of ill health or abuse make it harder for us to stand up for ourselves then our rights don’t matter. There are far too many bereaved families in this country who know this to be true. We want justice for all of them. We want to live in a world where hospitals take care of us and the police protect us. It’s not much to ask.”
Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women’s Justice which is supporting the family, says: “The road to justice for Gaia is proving to be a long and difficult one, but her family and friends remain determined, as do their many allies. After Sarah Everard, women’s confidence in the police is at an all time low and many will be following Gaia’s story as a measure of what justice the state can offer survivors – and what needs to change to save lives like Gaia’s.”
Lucy McKay, on behalf of the charity INQUEST, says: “This hearing comes a time of increased public concern around gendered violence and the police response to missing people, following the murder of Sarah Everard and a number of high profile cases. The scrutiny the inquest process provides in examining the death of Gaia Pope is vital. Not only to ensure the family can access the truth about what happened, and hopefully get some justice and accountability, but also in the public interest to ensure changes are made to protect lives in future.”
Due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, attendance at the hearing today was limited. Members of the public are invited to show support online instead using the hashtag #JusticeForGaia.
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Please respect the privacy of Gaia’s family and friends at this time and ensure all press enquiries go through the stated channels. You can follow the family’s Justice for Gaia campaign on Facebook, Instagram and twitter @JusticeForGaia and find out more via their website.
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To find out more about Gaia’s story go to 
Justice For Gaia 