This CLP notes:

It is estimated that, in the UK, around 800,000 adults experience sexual violence per year and that 1 in 6 children under the age of 16 are sexually abused. The majority of offences go unreported to the police, and of those that are reported, few reach trial. Data suggests that fewer than 2% of trials result in prosecution.

The report ‘Suffering for Justice’, published by the charity Victim Support in October 2024, found that the criminal justice process is not only letting victims of sexual violence down, but is in fact contributing to the psychological impact of the offences. The process is characterised by long delays and adjournments, a lack of information about victim’s own cases and the process generally, sustained periods with no contact from the police or CPS, and a failure to take a trauma-informed or victim-centred approach. The report states that 90% of victims said that their experience of the criminal justice system was so negative that they would not have reported incidences of sexual violences had they known what it would entail.

This CLP believes:

This is a national scandal and this CLP stands in solidarity with all victims of sexual violence.

This CLP:

Urges this government to consider the following measures to improve victims’ experience of the criminal justice process:

• Making free psychological support available in a timely manner to any victim who requests it.
• Ensuring a single point of contact for information and support in the form of a Victim Support Officer or similar (to work across police / CPS / courts) for all cases of sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
• Allowing all rape cases (which are indictable and therefore only to be dealt with by the Crown Court) to be referred directly to the Crown Court automatically upon charging by the CPS. This would speed up the justice process by removing the current requirement for a first hearing to be held at the Magistrates courts, at which the case cannot be progressed.
• Mandatory training for police, CPS and Court staff at all levels and stages of the process to encourage a trauma-informed and victim-led approach throughout.

This motion to be sent to Jess Phillips MP and the Secretary of State for Justice  Shabana Mahmood

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