The rape reform programme Operation Soteria is being extended to all 43 police areas in England and Wales from Monday, July 10.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said she wants police to “focus on the suspect”, not on undermining the victim.
But according to BBC News, women with rape complaints have said the police and court systems are still “weighted in favour of the accused”.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What is the Rape reform programme?
The programme was launched by the Metropolitan Police in September 2021, and is in partnership with the police, prosecutors and academics.
It aims to transform the response to rape and sexual offences, by using evidence and new insight. However, in the first five areas, less than one in 12 complaints led to charges.
In March, a review was conducted by Baroness Casey which found evidence of “a strategic and operational failure to tackle rape and sexual offences within the Met which compounds the harm for victims”.
Her report found that the failures included a fridge containing forensic samples being switched off by accident, compromising a rape investigation.
Why is the programme needed?
The latest available official figures show between April and December 2022, there approximately 50,000 rape offences recorded by police in England and Wales.
Of these, about 900 (less than 2%) had yet resulted in a charge or court summons.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “As a society, too often we have failed the victims of sexual violence. I have been clear that we must transform the way these investigations are handled, to make sure that all victims have the best support possible throughout the entire process. This is a vital step in delivering on that promise.
“It will help ensure investigations focus on the suspect, and never on seeking to undermine the account of the victim, as well as placing the utmost importance on their rights and needs.”
Labour said that “after 13 years”, the Conservatives had “broken the criminal justice system, leaving survivors traumatised and rapists to go unpunished”.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed said the next Labour government would introduce rape courts and specialist rape investigation units in every police force, to “speed up justice and punish rapists”.
What were the findings of Operation Soteria?
The Home Office said there were early signs of improvement in the police forces and CPS areas participating in the programme.
Data suggests more victims are reporting rape and sexual offences to the police.
The government said charge rates were considerably better in five police areas where trials of Operation Soteria first began in 2021 and 2022, more than doubling in all but one by the end of 2022.
But Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said: “While we have seen some progress, the government have been too quick to claim that they’ve tangibly changed the justice system for rape survivors. We’re barely off the starting blocks, but we now have a roadmap which is going to need a lot of support to realise its ambitions.
“It still remains the case that the vast majority of rape survivors don’t report to the police, and the majority who do will leave the system altogether due to the barriers to justice they find themselves up against.”
It called Operation Soteria a “promising” outcome, but said more independent academic oversight is needed, as well as funding to change police culture.
As part of the rape reform programme, an independent report into four police forces found investigators display “great variability” in their attitudes towards sexual offending. It also found some officers displayed “a culture of disbelieving” victims.
But it said “green shoots of change” were evident. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police said it was “committed to transforming its response to rape”.
