Convicting rapists and protecting victims - consultation paper published.
29 Mar 2006
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.
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.