As pressure mounts on Ulrika Jonsson to press charges against the man who allegedly raped her, Women's Editor Christen Pears asks whether she should and why so many women fail to report sexual assaults.

COLLECTING signatures for a petition calling for a change in the laws regarding rape, Alane Aitken was taken aback when an elderly woman refused to add her name to the lengthy list.

"She said she didn't want to sign the petition because she had just seen a documentary on rape on the television. She told me she thought what had happened to the woman was horrendous but because she was going down a dark street on her own at night, what else did she expect?" explains Alane, project manager at the Middlesbrough Women's Support Network.

"I was quite shocked but it just shows that the idea about women 'asking for it' is still very strong. If someone's wearing a short skirt, they're asking for it; if they're out on their own at night, they're asking for it. No one ever asks to be raped but because there are so many myths surrounding rape, victims are reluctant to come forward. They know it's going to be an ordeal for them if they report it, so most of them just don't."

The situation has improved dramatically over the last few years. Police training and practice means victims can expect to be treated seriously and sensitively and there is a strong support network helping them through the process, from reporting the attack to appearing in court. But it is estimated that 80 to 90 per cent of women who are raped in Britain do not report the assault.

Among them, she claims, is Ulrika Jonsson. The former weather girl said in her recently-published autobiography that she was the victim of a date rape in 1988 but has not named the man allegedly responsible and has refused to take the matter to the police.

The incident is said to have happened in a hotel room when Ulrika was a trainee weather girl at TV-am and was getting ready to go to the cinema with the man, a well-known TV personality.

Some people have questioned the presenter's motives in writing about the alleged incident - it's guaranteed to increase interest in her book - but she insists she simply wanted to bring things out into the open. She told GMTV earlier this week that including it in her autobiography was a way of understanding what had happened and trying to come to terms with it.

Police have already signalled that they would be willing to investigate any complaint but 35-year-old Jonsson said that, although she felt a sense of responsibility to other women in a similar situation, it would be a "big thing" for her to go through a prosecution now with no guarantee of the outcome.

Rape support groups say they fear her stance could send the wrong message to victims of sexual assault and Redcar MP Vera Baird, a barrister and prominent campaigner on rape issues, believes it may discourage other women from reporting incidents.

"I think Ulrika might have had problems because she was so young at the time. She would almost certainly have felt that people in the industry would take his side," she says.

"If you look at the circumstances, it isn't really surprising that she didn't report it but it's a pity she has made very public that she couldn't bear that pressure. It gives the wrong message. People will think that if someone as famous as her couldn't do it, then they couldn't either. It also suggests that rape isn't that traumatic as she didn't make a complaint.

"Ulrika has made it clear she isn't going to take it any further but even if she did, she's shown she's a pretty poor witness because she didn't report it at the time and there's a suggestion that she's publicity seeking. However, it looks as if there are other women involved and I think the most important thing is if they are now persuaded to come forward."

Even when a woman does go to the police, the chances of her attacker going to prison are slim. Many cases do not even come to court because of a lack of evidence and the conviction rate stands at just 7.5 per cent. Many women feel they will be putting themselves through the ordeal for nothing.

Mrs Baird believes a change in the law would encourage more rape victims to come forward and has organised a seminar at the University of Teesside next month to discuss the possibilities. Among the speakers will be Harriet Harman, the Solicitor General, who will address women's groups from the region.

Mrs Baird says: "In the past, a woman could be asked all sorts of questions about her previous sexual behaviour but that has now been excluded. There are still some sneaky ways of asking about a woman's sexual history but the situation has improved. It shows the Government is listening and this will be a good opportunity for women to put forward their views."

One of the groups involved in the event is the Middlesbrough Women's Support Network, which has collected more than 2,000 signatures on a petition, urging a change in the law. One of the main issues it addresses is consent. Currently, it is up to the woman to prove she was raped - the group would like to see the responsibility transferred to the defendant so that he must prove that she consented.

"The way it stands at the moment, it's almost as if the woman is on trial," says Alane. "She has to prove she didn't give her consent and she can be asked all sorts of questions, really personal questions, about sex, that often have absolutely nothing to do with the case. They might be asked about the first time they had sex, how often they have sex, how many people they've had sex with and it can be used to slur their character in court. It can be embarrassing and humiliating. Is it any wonder women are reluctant to come forward?"

But it isn't just the thought of going to court that discourages women. A mythology has grown up around rape that shifts the blame to the woman. Men frequently argue that the woman said no but meant yes or that the way she dressed or behaved provoked the attack. This is particularly true if it is date rape.

"When people think about rape, they think about 'stranger danger', people lurking in dark alleyways but often it's someone the victim knows. It may be date rape, it may even be within marriage, and that makes them far more reluctant to come forward," says Alane.

"If a woman has spent an evening with someone, allowed them to buy her drinks, gone back with them for coffee, she may think it's her fault, but no matter what she did, it doesn't mean she agreed to sex. If a woman says no, she means no and she shouldn't be afraid to tell people what has happened to her."