News

A Woman's Story: A Survivor Speaks Out

Edinburgh Rape Crisis are today launching ‘A Woman’s Story:  My Personal Experience of Going Through the Policing and Judicial System after being Raped’.

In this powerful account, a woman tells of her sense of violation by how she was treated within the judicial process, and how devastated she was by the not proven verdict in her case.

A lot of important work has taken place in recent years to improve complainers’ experience of reporting rape, and the resulting justice processes.  Since the advent of Police Scotland, the way the police investigate rape has been transformed, and we hear a lot of positive feedback from survivors about how the police treated them.  Similarly, the establishment of the National Sexual Crimes Unit within the Crown Office has resulted in a team of dedicated and highly experienced prosecutors.  However, what this woman’s story tells us – clearly and urgently – is that much more needs to be done.  It is just not acceptable for women not to be offered female doctors for what can be an intimate and distressing forensic examination in the immediate aftermath of being raped.  Or for these examinations to be carried out in police stations.  And we should be able to meet someone’s sexual health needs following a rape or sexual assault far more sensitively and appropriately.  The not proven verdict is an anomaly, is used disproportionally in rape trials, and in our view should be removed.  

The biggest issue, however, and one we hear time and time again at Rape Crisis, is how intensely violating the experience of giving evidence in court can be.  Evidence needs to be tested, but our experience is that – certainly from the complainers’ perspective – this testing can end up feeling like being bullied and harassed.  Rape Crisis Scotland believes that we can and should do more to protect complainers.  The proposals in the Evidence and Procedure Review by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service offer a vision of a justice system which protects both vulnerable complainers and those accused, in a way which we consider better enables the search for truth. 

Rape Crisis Scotland National Coordinator Sandy Brindley said: "Too many women have gone through experiences similar to that of the woman who has bravely written this story;  too many women have told us that the experience of giving evidence in court felt at least as violating as the rape itself.  This woman’s story is a call for change, and we hope that the new Scottish Parliament is willing to listen, and take action."

Responding to the ERCC report, Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham said:

“We are committed to continually improving our response to reports of rape and other sexual offences and to conducting rigorous and robust investigations.

“We work closely with a range of partners to improve the investigation of sexual offences including Rape Crisis Scotland, and their feedback has influenced the development of our services.

“Police Scotland’s Sexual Offences Liaison Officers (SOLO) go through enhanced interview training with an emphasis on treating people with empathy. Since last year, SOLO training includes the impact of trauma on individuals, delivered in partnership with NHS and Rape Crisis Scotland staff. Trauma training is now given to all police recruits as part of their initial training and is accessible to all other officers."

The full Police Scotland response can be accessed here.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said:

"Rape and all sexual crimes have been a high priority for the prosecution service for a number of years. The Crown has a specialist team of highly trained prosecutors who deal with rape and sexual crimes and a team dedicated solely to supporting and providing information to victims throughout the case.

"We continually strive to improve and develop our engagement with victims and witnesses to assist and support them through the prosecution process.

"Victims of these crimes now receive communications tailored to best suit their requirements following the introduction of the Victim strategy in 2014.

"We welcome the feedback provided and would be happy to meet with the victim in this case to identify any further improvements to our service."

Read: A Woman's Story: my personal experience of going through the policing and judicial system after being raped

Article in The Scottish Mail on Sunday (22.05.16)

Rape Crisis News 14: Special Legal Issue

Rape Crisis Scotland has published Issue 14 of Rape Crisis News, which has a particular focus on legal matters, and appears at a pivotal moment for survivors' rights.
The outcome of a judicial review published in the 12th February marked a significant step forward for the right to privacy of complainers in sexual offence cases, while the Evidence and Procedure Review initiated by Lord Carloway and published on 26th February offers some radical and welcome proposals for changes in the way that the justice system engages with children and vulnerable witnesses, including survivors of sexual offences. In an interview in this issue, Lord Carloway outlines some of the background to these potentially transformative proposals.

Rape Crisis Scotland welcomes the publication of the Evidence and Procedure review

The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service today published their follow up report from the Evidence and Procedure Review, which recommends a new approach to ensure that children and vulnerable witnesses are protected from further trauma while giving evidence.

Rape Crisis Scotland welcomes a 40% increase in the number of people convicted for rape and attempted rape in Scotland

New figures release today show a 40% increase in the number of people convicted for rape and attempted rape in Scotland, as well as an increase in the proportion of cases taken forward that result in a conviction. Rape Crisis Scotland National Coordinator Sandy Brindley said:

‘Rape Crisis Scotland welcomes such a significant increase in the number of convictions for rape and attempted rape in Scotland.

Rape is a very serious crime and it is vital that people can have confidence in the justice system’s response. The proportion of rapes prosecuted that resulted in a conviction has also risen – from 40% to 46%. However, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that a significant majority of rapes that are reported do not result in a conviction, or even make it to court. These latest figures show that there were 125 convictions for rape and attempted rape during 2014-15; however it is important to put this in perspective: there were also a total of 1901 reports of rape and attempted rape during the same year - 1797 of these were reports of rape. And while today’s figures are welcome, it is still the case that the by far the highest number of not guilty and not proven verdicts are to be found in cases of rape and attempted rape. There is no room for complacency, and much still remains to be done in terms of improving the justice response for rape survivors in Scotland.’

Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2014-15 can be accessed at http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00494474.pdf