News

Rape Crisis Scotland launches new postcard

Rape Crisis Scotland has launched a new postcard challenging attitudes to rape.

Please contact info@rapecrisisscotland.org.uk if you would like to receive hard copies of the new postcards.

You can also download pdfs of the front of the postcard here, and of the reverse here.

Crown Office publishes new rape conviction figures

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has today published new figures on rape convictions in Scotland for the period 2008/9. These indicate that 7% of rapes reported to the police resulted in a conviction. While substantially higher than those previously extrapolated from other data made available by the Scottish Government, the new figures continue to show that there is no room for complacency and substantial improvements must yet take place in order to give survivors confidence that they will receive justice for this serious and damaging crime. The new figures also show that in 31% of cases indicted the accused was found or pled guilty.

While there have been some important and welcome changes over the past few years in the way rape is prosecuted in Scotland (for example with the setting up of the National Sexual Crimes Unit), it is worrying that so few cases get to court. The new figures released by the Crown Office show that over a third of rapes reported to the police never even make it as far as the Crown Office. It can take a lot of courage to report a crime like rape to the police, and it can be devastating to find out your case is not going to make it to court. There are grave concerns that this situation will worsen as a consequence of the recent Cadder judgement. Action must be taken to ensure that the prosecution rate for rape does not fall even further.

Efforts must also continue to ensure that data-gathering in this area is rigorous and robust so that clarity around improvements made and those still required can be guaranteed.

Rape Crisis Scotland continues to be contacted by women who feel very let down by the justice system, either because their case did not make it to court, or if it did, resulted in a not proven verdict. It is clear much remains to be done to ensure rape survivors have access to justice.

Rape Crisis Scotland publishes briefing paper on Carloway Review

Following the UK Supreme court’s Cadder ruling last year, the Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill asked Lord Carloway to undertake a review to consider the implications of the ruling and make recommendations.

The Cadder ruling relates to an accused’s right to legal representation during police questioning, and has had a particular impact on sexual offences.  Due to the difficulties in obtaining corroboration in sexual offences cases (because they often happen in private, with no witnesses) the police prior to Cadder were often reliant on admissions from the accused to help them build a case.  Since the Cadder decision, defence lawyers seem to be routinely advising their clients to make no comment at all during police interviews, which is causing serious difficulties and has the potential to make prosecutions in rape cases even more difficult.

As well as considering questions relating to legal representation for the accused, Lord Carloway has also been considering broader issues relating to evidence, including the requirement for corroboration and whether or not juries should be able to draw an adverse inference if the accused remains silent and refuses to answer any questions. Rape Crisis Scotland has produced a briefing paper outlining our position on these questions raised by the Carloway Review and hope this will be helpful to other agencies planning to respond to the consultation.  Click here to download the RCS briefing paper. The deadline for consultation responses is 3^rd June 2011.

Now is the time to deliver on key pledges on sexual violence

It is now clear that the SNP will be the next Scottish Government. 
Two explicit commitments in their manifesto are of particular interest to anyone concerned with addressing violence against women:  continuing funding for Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid, and legislating so that in sexual offence trials judges will direct juries not to take into account any delay in reporting a rape or any apparent lack of resistance from the victim / survivor when reaching their decision.  Two very important pledges with the potential to make a real difference.  Provision of support and access to justice following a crime as traumatic as rape need to be seen as basic human rights.  Rape Crisis Scotland looks forward to the implementation of these commitments and to working with the new Scottish Government to improve responses to sexual violence.