Convicting
rapists and protecting victims - consultation paper published.
On 29 March
2006 Solicitor General, Mike O’Brien, announced a package of proposals
aimed at improving the outcome for victims in rape cases and raising
public awareness of the realities of rape.
The range of
measures on which the Government is now consulting include:
-
enabling
general expert evidence on the psychological impact of rape on victims
to be put before a jury
-
allowing
adult victims of rape to give video-recorded evidence at trials
-
whether
there is need to define in law a complainant’s capacity to
give consent where drink or drugs were involved, to assist judges
and juries
-
whether
all relevant evidence of complaints made by victims in rape cases
should be admissible as evidence in a trial, irrespective of time
passed since the alleged conduct.
Download
the consultation paper
"Convicting
Rapists and Protecting Victims - Justice for Victims of Rape"
Download
Men's Aids response "Rape
in a vacuum"
Solicitor
General, Mike O’Brien said:
“Rape
is an appalling crime that devastates the lives of victims and their
families, and inspires fear in our communities. However, rape will always
be a difficult offence to prosecute. The majority of rapes are perpetrated
by someone known to the victim. Often there are no independent witnesses
present and no forensic evidence available.
“We have
already strengthened the law on rape, but conviction rates remain unacceptably
low. We are determined to do more to tackle barriers to the successful
prosecution of rape, while not interfering with the burden of proof.
“False
assumptions around rape are seemingly still entrenched in society. Even
a recent report suggests that many people believe the myth that some
women who are raped are “asking for it”, especially if they
were provocatively dressed or drunk. But what rape victims are asking
for is help – help to get justice.
“We want
to ensure that stronger cases are presented to the courts, witnesses
are given greater assistance in providing their evidence, and courts
hear evidence from experts that will better inform juries about the
realities of rape. Juries need to understand the psychological impact
of sexual offences upon victims to address certain myths and stereotypes
concerning how a victim might be expected to behave. We believe these
proposals have the potential to make a positive difference and welcome
views on them.”
Home
Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart said:
“The Government
is working to put rape victims' needs first and to make it easier to
bring rapists to justice.
"We are
working with the police to improve detection and conviction in rape
cases and continue to work with all parts of the CJS and health professionals
to provide better care for rape victims.
“We have
invested £4 million over the last two years in services for victims
of sexual violence, including Sexual Assault Referral Centres and voluntary
and community sector services up and down the country. New Government
funding announced today totalling £2.5 million will further expand
these schemes.
“There
is a lot more to do especially in changing public attitudes to rape
which is why a hard-hitting advertising campaign was launched this month
educating young men about the need to gain consent before sex.”
Constitutional
Affairs Minister Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP said:
“To secure
confidence, the CJS must earn confidence of the rape victim as well
as the victim of the burglary or the mugging. To narrow the “justice
gap” we must tackle the gap between the number of rapes and the
number of convictions.
“All the
parts of the system need to work together to ensure rape victims get
the support they need and get justice and ensure that perpetrators know
they can't get away with it.
“In all
areas now the local criminal justice boards are working together - strengthening
partnerships between chief constables and chief crown prosecutors and
courts, prison and probation.”
A Home Office
advertising campaign launched this month, targeted at young men, draws
attention to the fact that rape occurs where there is a lack of consent,
and does not have to involve physical violence.
The aim of general
expert evidence is to dispel myths and stereotypes concerning how a
victim should behave, and help a judge and jury understand the normal
and varied reactions of such victims. It would not limit the ability
of the defence to cross-examine and effectively ‘levels the playing
field between prosecution and defence’ by providing an alternative
explanation to the defence’s assertions.
Currently in
a criminal trial any puzzling behaviour that a victim may exhibit around
the alleged rape, will be used by the defence as a basis for questioning
in order to make the victim appear unreliable or untruthful. However
there can be another explanation as to why a victim omits detail, reports
the offence late or exhibits other puzzling behaviour, grounded in the
common psychological reactions that occur if a person has suffered a
traumatic event or been in an abusive relationship.
Enabling the
jury to see and hear a rape victim being interviewed at the time of
the complaint by means of a video-recorded statement used as evidence-in-chief,
will usually provide more compelling and coherent evidence than that
given in court several months later. This proposal would be subject
to the victim agreeing to give evidence in this manner.
Consent is not
simply about saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’, but doing
so through choice and with freedom and capacity to make that choice.
The consultation paper seeks views on whether there is a need to define
that capacity in law to assist the courts and juries in cases where
drink or drugs may have impacted upon the complainant’s abilities
to choose.
Improving
conviction rates
The Government has taken a number of recent steps to improve the conviction
rate for rape, including:
-
The
CPS has trained 520 specialist rape prosecutors to ensure that all
rape cases are prepared by experts;
-
The
Sexual Offences Act 2003 provides a coherent and comprehensive set
of offences appropriate for the modern day, and strengthened the
law by creating a definition of consent and removing the defence
that a person could avoid conviction for rape if he had an honest
but mistaken belief in consent.
-
The
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 provides for a statutory
Victims’ Code of Practice, placing obligations on the police
to keep victims informed of case progress;
-
Over
2004-2006, the Government dedicated £4m to supporting victims
of rape and sexual assault through further developing the network
of Sexual Assault Referral Centres; Witness Care Units will provide
an ‘initial needs assessment’ to identify specific support
requirements of victims, and offer witness care officers;
-
The
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 introduced specific
provisions for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including video
links and screens.
