Rape

Rape Crisis Scotland’s proposed legal action against the Scottish government over its failure to consider non-jury trials – which the charity complains has caused unacceptable delays for rape complainers – is “paradoxical", given that Rape Crisis itself had a hand in extendin

Downing Street is planning to set prosecution targets in rape cases for police and lawyers, The Guardian reports. The Prime Minister's crime and justice taskforce is to set targets for police to refer evidentially strong rape cases to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

A long-awaited review of protections for vulnerable witnesses in the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences in Ireland has backed proposals for anonymity to be extended to defendants in all sexual assault trials, as well as greater supports for complainants. The review, chaired by Tom O&rs

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has revised its internal policy on the recovery of sensitive personal records of rape complainers for use as evidence. The move follows a Court of Session decision by Lord Glennie (WF v Scottish Ministers 2016 SLT 359) in which the right of a complainer

Four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in 2012 have been hanged. Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh were given death sentences at a trial in 2013.

The First Minister is to be asked to back calls for the abolition of the not proven verdict. Nicola Sturgeon will meet rape victim Miss M, who has campaigned for Scotland's third verdict to be removed since her case against a man whom she accused of raping her was found not proven.

An undisclosed prosecution target may be responsible for a steep decline in the number of rape suspects charged since 2016, the Law Society Gazette reports. Rape prosecutions south of the border have fallen to their lowest level since 2008, even though record numbers of allegations have been made to

There has been a 115 per cent increase in reports of rape since 2010-11, while reports to police of sexual crimes increased by eight per cent from 12,487 to 13,547, new figures show. There has generally been an upward trend in rape and attempted rape since 2010-11 with both crimes more than doubling

The Crown Prosecution Service is "in denial" about declining rape prosecutions and convictions, the victims' watchdog has told The Times. Recent figures from the CPS show that while recorded rapes have increased over the past six years to 58,657 in 2018, charges, prosecutions and convictions for the

Scotland is considering the creation of a dedicated sexual offences court, a judge has said. Lord Matthews said in a speech at the Third International Advocacy Conference in Nottingham that a judge-led sexual offences review group is considering the measure.

Complainers in sex crime cases should be given independent legal representation to allay their "perception" that the adversarial trial system is "weighted in favour of the accused", according to new research. The proposal is among a number of recommendations made in a report published today by the S

Suspected sex offenders should remain anonymous until charged so long as they have a reputation to protect, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC has said. The new Lord Chancellor, who backed a campaign by Sir Cliff Richard and Paul Gambaccini to impose a ban on revealing the names of people arrested

A law professor representing Harvey Weinstein in his upcoming rape and sexual assault trial has been dropped from his position as a faculty dean at Harvard Law School. Professor Ronald S. Sullivan Jr and his wife, fellow law lecturer Stephanie Robinson, will no longer be faculty deans of Winthrop Ho

Restricted public access to rape trials and the provision of publicly-funded legal advice to complainants are among the final recommendations of the judge-led review into serious sexual offence trials.

Looking at the mobile phone data of rape complainants is "common sense", essential for a fair trial and does not alter the existing statutory regime, lawyers have said. Jerry Hayes, a former Conservative MP and barrister, said the rules were clear and that “the police are not entitled to trawl