A SCOTTISH rape charity is urging ministers to set out a clear timeline for specialist sexual offence courtrooms – and to introduce remote access so survivors can follow their case after giving evidence.
On Monday, the UK Government announced its intention to form "specialist courtrooms" for sexual abuse victims, matching the pledge that Scottish ministers made last year as part of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Act.
While the policy will be rolled out in Scotland in phases, Rape Crisis Scotland wants more clarity on the delivery timeline.
The charity's external affairs manager Nicola Love said: “A specialist sexual offence court is something that we wanted to see so that we could start to actualise what a proper trauma-informed response for complainers looks like, rather than trying to shoehorn it into the existing court structure."
“We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to this important change, but we need to see a clear timeline for its implementation."
As part of the UK Government announcement, specialist courts will now also be equipped to record evidence and will allow sentencing to be observed remotely.
This is something Rape Crisis Scotland says should now be implemented in Scotland.
Love continued: “Something which has been outlined in the English proposals, but is not yet part of commitments in Scotland, is the option for complainers to view their court proceedings remotely. That is something we would really like to see introduced."
She said that the ability to give evidence remotely, to meet with the prosecution and defence in advance, makes a significant difference to how complainers experience the criminal justice process.
Love continued: "At the moment, they are not always guaranteed. After giving evidence, some complainers tell us that they would like to understand what is happening with the rest of the case but cannot bear to sit in the same room as the accused.
"What that can mean for survivors, particularly when there’s an acquittal, is that it can be difficult to understand what has happened.
“We think it would make a huge difference if they set up secure online access for complainants in these cases to view the rest of the proceedings.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We legislated last year to introduce a specialist Sexual Offences Court which will be trauma-informed, as part of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Act.
"Every victim and survivor deserves a justice system that treats them with compassion and supports them to give their best evidence.”
