Rape victim ethnicity data
Failure to collect and publish ethnicity data for rape victims and survivors within the criminal justice system.
33 items
2 sources
Source spread
Where this theme appears
Rape victim ethnicity data has been flagged across 2 independent accountability sources:
32 committee recs
1 NAO rec
This issue has been identified by multiple independent accountability bodies, suggesting it is a recurring concern.
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Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Committee Recommendations (32)
#7 — Collect and publish intersectional data on victims of religiously and racially aggravated hate crimes.
Recommendation: The Government should collect and publish data on the religion, ethnicity and sex of victims of both religiously and racially aggravated hate crimes to help policymakers understand the extent of anti-Muslim hate crimes and the role gender plays in such …
Gov response: 27. The Committee asked that Government ensure police officers are appropriately trained to effectively deal with hate crimes targeted at Muslim women. The Government recognises the importance of ensuring officers are appropriately trained to recognise, …
No Published Response
#7 — Mandate Home Office and MoJ to collect and publish ethnicity data for rape victims
Recommendation: It is important that the justice system captures data about victims that can give insight into whether their protected characteristics might affect their criminal justice journeys. We recommend that the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice work with the …
Gov response: As we stated in July 2021 in our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, we recognise that, sadly, certain groups are more likely than others to be victim of particular crime types. The CSEW …
Under Consideration
#5 — Significant underreporting of intersectional hate incidents against Muslim women hinders effective intervention.
Recommendation: The significant underreporting of hate incidents against Muslim women is a concern, and a barrier to it being tackled. Reasons for underreporting are various but include a lack of awareness of and confidence in the process. It is essential that …
Gov response: 27. The Committee asked that Government ensure police officers are appropriately trained to effectively deal with hate crimes targeted at Muslim women. The Government recognises the importance of ensuring officers are appropriately trained to recognise, …
No Published Response
#36 — Work with judiciary to guarantee fixtures for all rape and serious sexual offence trials.
Recommendation: We urge the Government to work with the judiciary to explore what more could be done to ensure fixtures for all rape and serious sexual offence trials are guaranteed. This would help address the severe delays many complainants and defendants …
Gov response: The Government is committed to working with the judiciary, including to overcome challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has created for all users of the justice system, including those for whom access to justice has been delayed. …
Under Consideration
#35 — Court backlog remains a significant concern, disproportionately affecting rape and serious sexual offences.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: The Government is committed to working with the judiciary, including to overcome challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has created for all users of the justice system, including those for whom access to justice has been delayed. …
Accepted
#30 — Ensure all victims needing counselling and pre-trial therapy can access it.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: The Government is committed to ensuring that all victims receive appropriate support, whether they are engaged in the criminal justice system or not. We acknowledge that the provision of pre-trial therapy has been inconsistent to …
Accepted
#28 — Ask Law Commission to publish early recommendations on pre-trial therapy and disclosure of notes.
Recommendation: We welcome the fact that the Law Commission’s project will be covering access to counselling and therapy notes and records. However, we are concerned that, as the Law Commission will not be reporting until summer 2023, victims and survivors could …
Gov response: We recognise the importance of ensuring that only evidence about the victim pertinent to the case is used at court. That is why the Ministry of Justice asked the Law Commission to conduct a landmark …
Not Accepted
#26 — Rape victims fear accessing mental health support due to disclosure concerns.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: In October 2020 the CPS completed a public consultation exercise on draft pre-trial therapy guidance. In February 2022, the CPS published the Pre-trial Therapy Fundamental Principles which confirmed its commitment to a number of fundamental …
Accepted
#33 — Significant obstacles hinder successful national roll-out of Section 28 for vulnerable witnesses.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: As stated in our second Rape Review Progress Update, we have gone beyond the ambition in the Rape Review to extend the pilot of section 28 for sexual and modern slavery complainants to four more …
Accepted
#31 — Ensure comprehensive mapping of sexual violence services assesses counselling and therapy provision.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: We will continue to work with our partners to understand the provision of specialist sexual violence and abuse services and identify where improvements need to be made. This will include joint working with the NHS …
Accepted
#29 — Legal advice pilot for complainants must consider support for therapy record applications.
Recommendation: 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.
Gov response: The Ministry of Justice’s legal support consultation explored options to enhance rape victims’ access to legal support or advice relating to all police or prosecutor requests for personal information. We aim to ensure victims of …
Accepted
#27 — Work with CPS to enable urgent publication of pre-trial therapy guidance.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: In October 2020 the CPS completed a public consultation exercise on draft pre-trial therapy guidance. In February 2022, the CPS published the Pre-trial Therapy Fundamental Principles which confirmed its commitment to a number of fundamental …
Accepted
#25 — Require police and CPS to publish analysed data on Victims' Right to Review Scheme.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: The Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) Scheme, provides victims the opportunity to have their case reviewed, when a ‘qualifying decision’ is made. Where a complainant requests a VRR, the outcome is either that a decision …
Accepted
#9 — Undertake comprehensive mapping and monitoring of specialist sexual violence and abuse support services
Recommendation: It is essential that the Government and other commissioning bodies have an understanding of the level of need and the current availability of specialist sexual violence and abuse services, including counselling and therapy and the support offered by Independent Sexual …
Gov response: This data is not currently collated centrally as the deployment of officers is a matter for Chief Constables. We are working to better understand the data in this area and will provide an update to …
Under Consideration
#8 — Ensure long-term, sustainable commissioning and funding models for specialist rape victim support services
Recommendation: The provision of specialist support to victims and survivors of rape is vital, given the devastating impact of sexual violence and the difficulties complainants face during the investigation and prosecution process. The Government’s research into what rape victims need from …
Gov response: The Government agrees that specialism is crucial for the effective policing of rape and sexual offences; we acknowledged this in the Rape Review, and it has been reinforced through Operation Soteria. However, Chief Constables remain …
Accepted
#6 — Mandate Home and Justice Secretaries to detail criminal justice data linking aims and methodology
Recommendation: As the Government’s data note on the performance scorecards makes clear, it is not possible to accurately track individual offences or defendants across the criminal justice system for the purposes of statistical reporting. We welcome the fact that work to …
Gov response: The Rape Review Progress Update was published on 16 June, this provides an update on Operation Soteria, including the findings to date and information on expansion to 14 further police forces and corresponding CPS areas. …
Under Consideration
#33 —
Recommendation: DWP should write to us by June 2022 setting out precisely what additional subgroup analysis, including analysis of ethnic minority households, it expects to be able to conduct as a result of the increase in the sample size for its …
Gov response: The full FRS boost starts in April 2022. Precisely which subgroups can be covered post- boost will depend on analysis on the data collected, the response rate and final sample sizes we achieve. It is …
Not Addressed
#32 —
Recommendation: Gaps in the analysis of income poverty for different ethnic groups caused by small survey samples reduces our understanding of poverty and solutions to it. We Children in poverty: Measurement and targets 55 therefore welcome DWP’s recent decision to increase …
Gov response: The full FRS boost starts in April 2022. Precisely which subgroups can be covered post- boost will depend on analysis on the data collected, the response rate and final sample sizes we achieve. It is …
Not Addressed
#34 — Consult judiciary and legal sector on widening private evidence use as a special measure.
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government consult with the judiciary and wider legal sector on evidence given in private as a special measure. Any such consultation should examine its use, given HMICFRS and HMCPSI have found that it can be underused, …
Gov response: The Ministry of Justice recognises the important role special measures can play in improving victim experience and the quality of evidence provided. In 2021, the CPS updated its Special Measure Legal Guidance to prosecutors on …
Not Addressed
#32 — Progress on RASSO 2025 and JNAP requires regular, updated publication to build public confidence.
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: In February 2022, the CPS published a Rape Strategy Update which details the progress it has made since the publication of its five-year strategy on Rape and Serious Sexual Offences—RASSO 2025—in July 2020, as well …
Accepted
#5 — Mandate Government to specify operational partner accountability for increasing rape prosecution volumes
Recommendation: We recommend that if the progress updates demonstrate that the review is not having its intended impact, the Government react quickly and effectively, putting in place alternative actions. In its next progress update, the Government must set out exactly how …
Gov response: We recognise that there may be benefits to introducing a dedicated commissioner for victims of sexual violence and abuse or expanding the role of an existing commissioner to formally cover this important function. In HMICFRS’s …
Under Consideration
#4 — Unclear how Government will hold partners accountable for increasing rape prosecution volumes
Recommendation: We are encouraged by the commitment to measuring progress through the performance scorecards and progress updates. However, it is unclear how the Government will hold operationally independent partners to account for their role in increasing the volume of rape prosecutions, …
Gov response: Through the Rape Review and the Victims Bill consultation we have heard about long waiting lists and how a victim’s location may determine the availability of support. Having the right support in place is crucial …
Under Consideration
#3 — Achieving 2016 rape prosecution levels insufficient, confidence in reaching target low
Recommendation: Whilst returning the volume of rape cases being dealt with to 2016 levels, as the Rape Review aims for, would be a step in the right direction, it should not be considered a success in and of itself, given that …
Gov response: We recognise the importance of accurate and reliable data on the protected characteristics of victims. Our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, published in July 2021, highlighted that those in certain ethnic groups were …
Under Consideration
#2 — Publish refreshed guidance for police on recording honour-based abuse and victim data
Recommendation: The Home Office, National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing should publish refreshed guidance for forces on how to accurately and consistently record incidents of honour-based abuse. The Home Office should instruct police forces across England and Wales to …
Gov response: The Department for Education is responsible for the annual children in need census - which collects individual assessment information and child characteristics for each child that has been referred to children’s social care services in …
Under Consideration
#27 — Require CIISA to publish annual report detailing music industry discrimination, harassment, and diversity.
Recommendation: CIISA has committed to producing an annual report. That report should include an overview on the state of the music industry with respect to levels of discrimination, harassment and abuse and diversity. Reported data should be broken down by protected …
Gov response: We are committed to supporting the music industry and the wider creative industries with insight reporting that identifies systemic trends and themes alongside what learning can be taken and used to continuously strengthen the workplace …
Accepted
#6 — Require record labels to publish creative roster diversity and organisations to publish workforce pay gap data.
Recommendation: To allow progress to be monitored, record labels should commit to regular publication of statistics on the diversity of their creative rosters. All organisations with more than 100 employees should be required to publish data on the diversity of their …
Gov response: We support this recommendation.
Not Addressed
#22 — Improve listing transparency by establishing specialist rape courts and providing Section 28 guidance.
Recommendation: There is more that can be done to make listing more transparent and effective, for example by distinguishing between listing decisions based on court capacity and those based on case progression. The development of local justice scorecards will help to …
Gov response: The civil reform project is due to run until March 2023. Within that time, we expect to deliver an end to end reformed service for civil money claims – this service will use Core Case …
Under Consideration
#15 — Set specific timeliness targets across criminal justice system, including for rape cases.
Recommendation: The Committee welcomes the publication of criminal justice scorecards. We recommend that the Government builds on these scorecards by setting itself targets to improve timeliness across the criminal justice system. The Government should also set timeliness targets for the average …
Gov response: We have committed to evaluating the impact of remote hearings as part of HMCTS’ Reform program and will take the learning and evaluation flowing from the use remote hearings during the Pandemic to help inform …
Under Consideration
#25 — Require PCCs to publish disaggregated data on Code compliance and share with Commissioner.
Recommendation: We recommend that clause 5 includes a duty for the Victims’ Commissioner and local victims’ groups to be consulted on the data required to hold agencies to account on their performance in delivering the Code. That data should be standardised …
Gov response: 35. The Government agrees with the Committee that effective oversight and transparency of criminal justice bodies’ delivery of victims’ entitlements is crucial to securing confidence 14 Pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Victims Bill: Government Response …
Accepted
#24 — Inadequate data collection hinders effective monitoring of Victims' Code compliance and agency accountability.
Recommendation: A lack of data has been a key barrier to the effective monitoring of the implementation of the Code, particularly with respect to minority groups. Meaningful data collected and published regularly can help amplify victims voices and hold underperforming agencies …
Gov response: 34. The Government agrees that meaningful data collection is essential for effective monitoring of the implementation of the Victims’ Code. We welcome the suggestions on data collection, and as we develop the minimum dataset required …
Accepted
#28 — Publish comprehensive quarterly data on remanded defendants, including bail refusals and demographics.
Recommendation: It is only on the basis of good quality data in respect of the use of custodial remand that there can be effective policy-making. More data needs to be collected and published on remanded defendants, particularly in relation to the …
Gov response: We partially accept this recommendation. The Ministry of Justice currently publishes prison remand data on a quarterly basis within Offender Management Statistics and court remand data within Criminal Justice Statistics and Criminal Court Statistics, with …
Partially Accepted
#1 —
Recommendation: The Government has acknowledged that ethnicity pay gap reporting should be mandatory. Businesses are ready for Ministers to follow through on this commitment and bring forward legislation. We recognise that capturing and reporting ethnicity pay gap data is a more …
Gov response: The Government has accepted the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ recommendation that ethnicity pay gaps should continue to be reported on a voluntary basis. As the Government noted when accepting that recommendation, ethnicity pay …
Under Consideration