News

Landmark judgment on corroboration in sexual offence cases

A judgement from nine senior judges has been issued today which transforms the approach to corroboration in sexual offence cases in Scotland.  This follows on from a previous Lord Advocate’s reference last October, which resulted in clarification that:

• Corroboration must still be used to prove the case against the accused. This means that corroboration will be needed to prove that firstly, the crime was committed and secondly, that the person accused in the case is the person who committed it. There is now no requirement for every separate part of a crime to be proven by corroborated evidence.
• Distress, which is observed by a third party, can corroborate a complainer’s account that they have been raped. Penetration does not need to be corroborated separately.
• A statement which is made by a complainer after the relevant incident is normally hearsay and cannot be used as proof of fact. An exception to this is where that statement is made de recenti, when the complainer is in a distressed state. Both the statement and the distress, in combination, can be used as proof of fact and as corroboration. They constitute real evidence, when spoken to by another witness (a third party).

New figures show a significant rise in number of reported rapes in Scotland

New figures from Police Scotland show a nearly 20% rise in reported rape cases in recent months.

Behind every number is a survivor who has made the decision, which can be a very difficult one, to report what happened to them to the police. It’s essential that every survivor who does report sexual crime is supported though the process.

We’re intervening in a Supreme Court case

This week, we are at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in London to intervene in a case which challenges the current restrictions in place in Scotland on what kinds of evidence can be brought up by the defence in sexual offence trials.

This case really matters. Often one of the biggest fears survivors raise with us about going to court is the fear of their sexual history or other aspects of their past being brought up in court.

We’re calling for more action following the proposed sentencing guidelines for rape

Rape Crisis Scotland calls for more action following the release of proposed sentencing guidelines for rape – the first ever to be published. We’re calling for:

• Mandatory participation in sex offender programmes to be included in sentencing. This is currently optional, and many rapists leave prison without having undergone any rehabilitation of this nature.
• Survivors to be given the right to read out victim impact statements where they wish to do so. This right is currently in place in England and Wales.
• Mandatory non-harassment orders as part of sentencing to protect victims when their rapists are released from jail.

The guidelines, published in draft by the Scottish Sentencing Council (SSC), set out how a sentence for rape should be determined by judges following a guilty verdict in court.