Rape victims have received an apology from the Justice Secretary for delays they have faced in receiving support and a court date. Robert Buckland was challenged in the House of Commons over the collapse of cases involving victims who are “fed up” with waiting.
He also acknowledged the number of cases being brought to court are “inadequate”, as Labour tabled a Commons motion criticising the “record low” convictions for rape and the “collapse” in convictions for all serious crime.
In September 2019, the annual Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) report from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) showed there were just 1,925 convictions for rape or an alternative lesser offence during the financial year 2018/19, down from 2,635 in the previous 12 months – a drop of 26.9%.
The figure dropped another 25% in summer 2020 when the CPS said 1,439 alleged rapists were convicted of rape or lesser offences in 2019/20.
Read the full story from the Evening Standard below:
Source: Justice Secretary apologises for court delays faced by rape victims
