Investigation and prosecution of rape
Home Affairs Committee
Closed
Inquiry
As part of the Committee’s overarching work into violence against women and girls, the Committee wishes to explore the key question of why rape prosecutions are falling. Read the terms of reference for more detail about this work. The Committee is keen to understand from victims and survivors of rape …
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24
Recommendations
12
Conclusions
1
Report
6
Oral sessions
10
Letters
6
Events
Activity timeline 24 events
7 Sep
2022
2022
7 Sep
2022
2022
7 Sep
2022
2022
7 Sep
2022
2022
7 Sep
2022
2022
7 Sep
2022
2022
25 Jul
2022
2022
22 Jun
2022
2022
18 May
2022
2022
18 May
2022
2022
12 Apr
2022
2022
Report published
Oral evidence sessions 6 sessions
15 Dec 2021
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Jaee Samant · Home Office
Jerome Glass · Ministry of Justice
Rachel Maclean · Home Office
13 Dec 2021
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Max Hill QC · Crown Prosecution Service
1 Dec 2021
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Derek Sweeting QC · The Bar Council
Ellie Cumbo · The Law Society
Kirsty Brimelow QC · The Criminal Bar Association
Professor Penney Lewis · The Law Commission
20 Oct 2021
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Baroness Stern CBE
David Tucker · College of Policing
Donna Jones
Rt Hon Lady Dorrian
Rt Hon Sir John Gillen
Sarah Crew
7 Jul 2021
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Dr Olivia Smith · Loughborough University
Professor Betsy Stanko OBE · Project Bluestone
Professor Cheryl Thomas · UCL
23 Jun 2021
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Amelia Handy · Rape Crisis England and Wales
Dame Vera Baird QC
Duncan Craig OBE · Survivors Manchester
Ellie Ball · Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre
Emily Hunt
Rosie Lewis · Imkaan
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eighth Report - Investigation and prosecution of rape | HC 193 | 12 Apr 2022 | 36 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
14 results
1
Conclusion
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Unacceptable low volumes of rape charges and prosecutions failing adult victims
Exceptionally low volumes of rape charges and prosecutions are unacceptable. Adult victims and survivors of rape are being failed by our criminal justice system. Rape is undoubtedly a complex, difficult and traumatic crime to investigate and prosecute successfully. However, that …
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Government Response
The government acknowledges the unacceptably low volumes of rape prosecutions, announcing the expansion of Operation Soteria into 14 more police force areas. It commits to continued publication of progress updates and data dashboards, and to writing to the Committee every six months.
Home Office
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11
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Inconsistent funding for Operation Soteria hinders effective implementation of police rape response improvements
It is clear that the way the police respond to reports of rape is vital when it comes to increasing the volumes of rape charges and prosecutions. We welcome the focus on improving these volumes, for example through the Police-CPS …
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Government Response
The government committed an additional £5 million this financial year to continue Operation Soteria in five pathfinder forces and expand it to a further 14 police force and CPS areas, with the aim of developing a new national operating model by June 2023.
Home Office
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12
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Provide update on Operation Soteria expansion, outlining participating forces, funding, and future assurances.
In the next Rape Review Progress Update, the Government must provide an update on Operation Soteria, outlining the 14 police forces and corresponding CPS areas that will be taking part next, as well as the funding available for that expansion, …
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Government Response
The government has accepted the recommendation, committing an additional £5 million this financial year to expand Operation Soteria into 14 more police force and CPS areas, with a new national operating model due in June 2023.
Home Office
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19
Conclusion
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Government lacks priority for legal advice for victims on disclosure decisions, despite benefits.
Although we support the Government’s upcoming consultation with victims’ groups on enhancing support and legal advice for victims on disclosure decisions, we have concerns that the Government is not placing a high priority on the question of legal advice for …
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Government Response
The government committed to addressing inconsistent pre-trial therapy, launched a draft Victims Bill requiring integrated support commissioning, published a Victims Funding Strategy for multi-year funding, announced £6.6m in additional funding for support services and training, and launched a consultation on enhancing legal advice for victims on disclosure requests.
Home Office
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23
Conclusion
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
CPS plays instrumental role in increasing rape prosecutions and improving victim experiences.
The role of the CPS is instrumental when it comes to increasing the volume of rape prosecutions and bringing more perpetrators to justice if guilty, as well as improving victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system. (Paragraph 136) 80 Investigation …
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Government Response
The government committed to improving victim experience and evidence quality by updating CPS guidance on special measures (Section 25), commencing automatic eligibility for special measures under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, sharing a 'Best Practice Framework' with Crown Courts, and rolling out pre-recorded cross-examination (Section 28) nationally to all Crown Courts.
Home Office
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25
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Require police and CPS to publish analysed data on Victims' Right to Review Scheme.
Given some victims and survivors’ negative experiences of the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme, we agree with Rape Crisis England and Wales that the Government require the police and the CPS to publish data covering how many cases are submitted …
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Government Response
The CPS already publishes annual data on VRR receipts and outcomes broken down by principal offence category. They are working to enhance VRR data and plan to publish it more frequently in the next financial year, but do not specifically commit to all requested breakdowns like gender, ethnicity, or reasons for review decisions.
Home Office
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26
Conclusion
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Rape victims fear accessing mental health support due to disclosure concerns.
We were particularly concerned to hear that victims and survivors of rape may feel they need to—or are advised to—put off accessing mental health support as they fear that their counselling or therapy notes and records could be disclosed to …
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Government Response
The CPS published Pre-trial Therapy Fundamental Principles in February 2022 and updated its pre-trial therapy guidance in May 2022, following a public consultation and review of the Attorney General's Disclosure Guidelines, to address concerns about therapy notes disclosure.
Home Office
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27
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Work with CPS to enable urgent publication of pre-trial therapy guidance.
We recommend that the Government work with the Crown Prosecution Service so that it is possible for the organisation to publish its guidance on pre-trial therapy as soon as possible. We understand the Crown Prosecution Service has been waiting on …
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Government Response
The government confirms that the Crown Prosecution Service published its updated pre-trial therapy guidance on 26 May, aligning with the publication of the Attorney General’s Disclosure guidelines, thus fulfilling the recommendation.
Home Office
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29
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Legal advice pilot for complainants must consider support for therapy record applications.
The pilot of the provision of legal advice to complainants—which we recommended at paragraph 125 above—should take account of support in relation to applications for counselling or therapy records.
Government Response
The Ministry of Justice's legal support consultation explored enhancing victims' access to legal advice regarding requests for personal information, and the Home Office launched a consultation on police requests for third-party material, directly addressing the recommendation for support related to counselling records.
Home Office
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30
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Ensure all victims needing counselling and pre-trial therapy can access it.
The Government must ensure that counselling and therapy, including pre-trial therapy, can be accessed by all victims and survivors who need it. We welcome the Government’s funding for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) but are mindful of Rape Crisis England …
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Government Response
The government acknowledges inconsistent pre-trial therapy provision and commits to considering interventions. It also outlined an additional £6.6 million for vital support services, a £20 million increase in NHS funding, and policy changes through the Victims Bill and Funding Strategy to improve access to support services.
Home Office
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31
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Ensure comprehensive mapping of sexual violence services assesses counselling and therapy provision.
Any comprehensive mapping and monitoring exercise, covering the provision of specialist sexual violence and abuse services in England and Wales, that the Government undertakes (as we recommend) must take account of the need for and availability of counselling and therapy …
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Government Response
The government committed to continuing to work with partners to map specialist sexual violence and abuse services, explicitly stating this will include joint working with the NHS and DHSC to consider and strengthen counselling and therapy provision.
Home Office
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32
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Progress on RASSO 2025 and JNAP requires regular, updated publication to build public confidence.
The actions the CPS is taking to drive up the number of rape prosecutions are positive and to be welcomed. However, given the continued low volume of rape prosecutions, and the concerns we heard around the gap between policy and …
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Government Response
The CPS published a Rape Strategy Update in February 2022, and the CPS and NPCC committed to providing regular updates against key strategies. The refreshed Police-CPS Joint National RASSO Action Plan (JNAP) was soft-launched in June and formally published in Summer 2022, as recommended.
Home Office
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33
Recommendation
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Significant obstacles hinder successful national roll-out of Section 28 for vulnerable witnesses.
It is evident that even when people’s cases do make it to court, their experience of the trial can be very difficult. We welcome the national roll-out of section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to …
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Government Response
The government is rolling out section 28 nationally to all Crown Courts for sexual offence and modern slavery complainants and is engaging with criminal justice stakeholders, including counsel, to address implementation obstacles. The Ministry of Justice is also consulting on changes to the legal aid fee scheme to reflect section 28 work.
Home Office
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35
Conclusion
Accepted
Eighth Report - Investigation and …
Court backlog remains a significant concern, disproportionately affecting rape and serious sexual offences.
We welcome the £1 billion in the recent Spending Review to increase capacity across the court estate and support recovery from the impact of the pandemic. However, we remain concerned by the size of the backlog, particularly as rape and …
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Government Response
The government acknowledges the backlog concerns, stating its commitment to reduce waiting times, ongoing judicial prioritisation, and launching pilots of enhanced sexual violence support in specific Crown Courts to tackle the backlog.
Home Office
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Correspondence 10 letters
7 Sep 2022
From committee
Letter to the Home Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister on the government response to the report on Investigation and Prosecution of Rape, dated 27 July 2022
Parliament page
7 Sep 2022
From committee
Letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions on the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme, dated 27 July 2022
Parliament page
7 Sep 2022
To committee
Letter from the Home Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister on the government response to the report on Investigation and Prosecution of Rape, dated 30 August 2022
Parliament page
7 Sep 2022
To committee
Letter from Minister for Safeguarding on Government consultation on police requests for Third Party Material consultation, dated 9 August 2022
Parliament page
7 Sep 2022
From committee
Letter to Minister for Safeguarding on Government consultation on police requests for Third Party Material, dated 27 July 2022
Parliament page
7 Sep 2022
To committee
Letter from the Director of Public Prosecutions on the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme, dated 30 August 2022
Parliament page
22 Jun 2022
To committee
Letter from the Minister of State for Justice on improving the criminal justice system response to rape, dated 15 June 2022
Parliament page
18 May 2022
To committee
Letter from the Home Secretary on the investigation and prosecution of rape, dated 10 May 2022
Parliament page
18 May 2022
From committee
Letter to the Home Secretary on the investigation and prosecution of rape, dated 11 April 2022
Parliament page
9 Feb 2022
To committee
Letter from the Minister for Safeguarding following her appearance before the Committee on 15 December 2021, dated 1 February 2022
Parliament page