News
Rape Crisis Scotland releases report on privacy rights for complainers of sexual offences in Scotland
Reporting sexual crime and going through the resulting
criminal justice processes can be a daunting process.
Of particular
concern to survivors of sexual crime is the prospect of their sexual history or
personal aspects of their lives being brought up in court. There have
been some key decisions by the courts in recent years which have highlighted
the rights of complainers to privacy and raised important questions about how
we assist complainers to assert these rights.
This report brings together key considerations and recommendations from a roundtable held in November 2020 which brought together agencies and academics to consider the question of whether complainers should have greater rights to legal representation when their privacy rights are at stake. The report recommends that consideration be given to introducing independent legal representation for complainers where applications are made to introduce their sexual history or character.
This was also one of the recommendations of the recent review
chaired by the Lord Justice Clerk.
It is
time for the Scottish Government to act to improve the protection offered to
rape survivors in Scotland who are seeking justice.
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