Theresa May has praised Britain's Duchess of Cornwall for her "hugely important" work supporting victims of rape.
Duchess Camilla
The Home Secretary - who is a member of Britain's Conservative Party - praised Duchess Camilla during a joint visit to the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre in Croydon, south London, where she and the 68-year-old royal met with victims.
May said: "Somebody like her [the Duchess] talking about this, which is not easy for people to talk about, is hugely important and sends a very clear message to victims and survivors that what has happened to you - please do come forward and report it."
The 59-year-old politician also tried to reassure victims that the government are trying to do more to see the number of rape cases that end in convictions increase.
She added: "We have been doing a lot of work with police in how they deal with these issues. Please do feel that you can come forward with your story, the police will take it seriously and where it is possible to bring people to justice we will seek prosecutions."
May's comments come after Duchess Camilla called on Britain to '"build a future" where sex crimes are not tolerated.
She wrote: "This challenging subject has been brought to the fore in recent years with some shocking news stories; these last for a few weeks but for those who have been the victims of rape and sexual abuse the traumatic effects can be long-lasting, not to say life-long. They leave their indelible mark.
"I have said it before and I will say it again: we must try to build a future where we will simply not tolerate rape and sexual abuse any longer."
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