News

New forensic standards for survivors of sexual violence launched today

£2.25 million to implement new forensic medical examination standards.

Services for people who have experienced rape or sexual assault are to be improved.

The first national standards for forensic medical examinations will be backed by £2.25 million funding to help NHS Boards implement them, ensuring a consistent service across Scotland.

Published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), the standards will ensure that victims – regardless of age, personal circumstances or geographical location – will experience a level of care to a high standard that aims to reduce the likelihood of further trauma.

Improving criminal justice experience for sexual crime victims

Scotland’s prosecution service is joining with Rape Crisis Scotland to obtain feedback from victims of sexual crime about their experience of the justice system.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS).

Under the new agreement RCS will share anonymous feedback on victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system and their views on the service provided by COPFS.

This information, only provided with the victim’s consent, will be used to identify ways COPFS can improve the service provided to victims of sexual crime.

The feedback will cover, among other things, the way the process was explained, how information was shared and where relevant the person’s experience in court. Victims will also be asked if anything could have been done better by COPFS.

News release: Rape Crisis Scotland calls for radical reform of legal responses to rape

Rape Crisis Scotland call for radical reform as Inspectorate of Prosecution release report into the prosecution of sexual crime

Rape Crisis Scotland have today condemned the ‘unacceptable’ findings of a review into the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Crimes released by the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland. Survivors’ voices contained within the report recount the trauma, degradation and humiliation of the court system, with one survivor describing the process as ‘worse than being raped’. Rape Crisis say that the report must act as an urgent wake up call, highlighting the critical need for improvement in legal responses to rape in Scotland.

“I was not prepared.... it was the most degrading and terrifying thing.”

“In our court system, you are totally humiliated. It was the most degrading experience I have been through”.

“Court was absolutely horrendous, it was worse than being raped”.

“Although there was a guilty verdict, I would never go through it again.”

In addition to the overall dissatisfaction from rape complainers highlighted in the quotes above and damning feedback, the report details specific areas of concern. These include:

· Complainers’ cases being allocated to floating trial diets resulting in significant uncertainty;

· Considerable and long delays in the progression of cases, in particular in pre-petition cases;

· Significant and concerning gaps in communication; in one case it took 15 months from the police report for the Crown to contact the complainer;

· Poor standards of communication from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in pre-petition cases with almost half of cases being below the standard expected;

· Significant proportions (12%) of sexual offence complainers withdrawing from the process.

Conference on responses to survivors' support & justice needs

Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson will open Rape Crisis Scotland’s forthcoming conference on ‘Responding to the support and justice needs of survivors of sexual violence’, which takes place in Glasgow on 9th November.

The conference, which marks the 10^th anniversary of Rape Crisis Scotland’s National Helpline, will include inputs on trauma, the impact of Rape Crisis Scotland’s National Advocacy Project (which supports survivors through the justice process), and will also look at ways in which services can be made more accessible.