Dame Vera Baird
(Picture: PA)Women are giving up on their fight for justice because rape cases are stuck “at the back of the queue” for a court date, the Victims’ Commissioner warned on Thursday.
Dame Vera Baird QC said the “endless, endemic delays” that rape complainants often face were already “driving many to drop their claims altogether” as she issued a new alert about the impact of the court backlog on the justice system.
She added: “A major problem for rape complainants is that their alleged assailants are rarely in custody and, of course cases of those in custody must come first.
“That puts rape cases to the back of the queue I remain very concerned that few victims will stay the course.
“Rape victims are being subjected to endless, endemic delays. Almost a quarter face delays of more than a year. We know that the stress and uncertainty is driving many to drop their claims altogether.”
The comments by Dame Vera, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, came as ministers announced the expansion to other parts of the country of a “Section 28” system already used in four London Crown Courts under which rape complainants can pre-record their testimony.
The aim is to spare them the ordeal of a court appearance and increase the likelihood of them pursuing the case until its completion.
Justice Minister Victoria Atkins said the measure was a “key part” of the government’s plans to improve the effectiveness of rape prosecutions, which have finally started to rise slowly after falling to record low rates in recent years.
Dame Vera said the extension of pre-recorded testimony was “a brilliant” reform but cautioned that it was not being used as extensively as it could be in the courts where it is already in place.
“The shortage of use of Section 28 for adult rape complainants in the 12 crown courts in which it is already available, may suggest that it is not being taken up for that cohort as it should be,” she said.
“I hope that the judiciary are enthusiastic about this measure which allows vulnerable adult rape complainants to be taken out of the huge backlog of crown court cases.”
The backlog of Crown Court cases waiting to be heard reached a record level of nearly 60,000 last year. It has since fallen by around 2,500 and ministers recently announced unlimiting court sitting days in a further attempt to bring the total down.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee criticised ministers earlier this year, however, for their “meagre” plans for reducing the “unacceptable delays” faced by victims of rape and serious sexual offences.
