Amanda Taub reports:
Things were supposed to be different this time, Brooke thought in disbelief as the police officer demanded that she hand over every scrap of data on her phone to investigators — not because she was suspected of a crime, but because she was the victim of one. Years earlier, a man who Brooke had until then considered a friend pulled her into a London alley, pushed her against a wall, choked her and violently sexually assaulted her. Her fear and humiliation, more than just the invasion of her body, seemed to be his goal. Several times, she said, she broke free, only to have him catch her, throw her back against the wall, and assault her again.
She reported the attack to the police, who were initially supportive, she said. But then they closed her case after she refused to submit to a “digital strip search” — Britain’s policy of requiring victims of sex crimes to give the police full access to their phone data, social media accounts, school records and even therapists’ notes.
Read more on The New York Times.