We'll dress women for court to empower them on their darkest days

Walking into a witness box to give evidence is one of the most daunting things a person can do.

Giving evidence as a victim of a sexual assault case is even more challenging.

That's something rape survivor Sarah Lee knows too well.

Fears about being judged on her appearance added to that pressure.

"Should I wear this? How will that look? How am I going to be perceived? Will I be judged?," she told BBC Scotland News.

"Should I wear something that's closed? Should I wear something that's open?

"There's just all these questions, how will my hair look? You're anticipating that people... are going to put you on trial."

Sarah, 39, describes the trial as one of the darkest periods of her life. She was terrified that attention would focus on her appearance rather than her evidence.

That anxiety motivated Sarah Lee and Kayla Poulton, who has also been through the court process, to do something that might help to remove some of the stress for others in a similar position.

They've set up a new campaign called CourtRobe which asks high street department stores in Scotland to donate vouchers or clothing and give staff specialist training to help women dress for court.

The women are working with the Emma Ritch Law Clinic at the University of Glasgow to develop the project.

For them, it's about empowerment.

Kayla, 36, said: "For me it was, do I wear a dress? If I wear a dress, do I look too provocative? Do I wear heels? Then I got suit trousers and a blouse and then I was so worried that the blouse was going to be see-through.

"You just overthink. You don't want people to think, oh, she deserved that. Oh, if she dressed like that, then, well, she deserved it.

"That's a really scary part and that's where we want to empower women and for them to just feel confident enough to go in and be who they are."

Sarah said: "It's not like you can turn up in a situation like this in your leggings and a hoodie. It's just not the way that women want to portray themselves."

CourtRobe aims to provide support to women who need it and who are looking to find confidence at an incredibly difficult time.

The project is aimed specifically at those on limited incomes.

The women believe it will help others be more prepared and feel less intimidated.

Shop staff involved in the programme will be given trauma informed training and will offer survivors free personal shopper sessions to choose clothes they feel comfortable in.

Kayla hopes the project can remove some of the stigma she feels women face when attending sexual assault trials.

She said: "You're just so worried about what the jury are thinking about you as a person and not the person that's on trial.

"CourtRobe is about empowering women at a time where they feel really vulnerable."

Rape Crisis Scotland points to research which suggests that image can, in fact, have an impact in sexual assault trials.

Spokeswoman Nicola Love said it shouldn't be surprising that women are "disproportionately worried about how they're perceived" when they go to give evidence.

"We've seen research, we've seen evidence from juries that if it's deemed to be a revealing piece of clothing or a provocative piece of clothing, they find that witness less credible."

She added that Rape Crisis Scotland was also fully behind Sarah and Kayla's plans.

"Whether or not you're wearing the right outfit should be the last thing you're thinking about. Going to court is really costly. We don't have that conversation enough.

"Having a service that is able to take that stress away is incredibly important and would make an incredibly distressing, stressful experience, feel significantly less stressful."