Rape victims’ experiences to inform Scottish government research

The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) will seek to identify and understand the factors that affect victims’ willingness to engage with the court process.

The project will also look into how the criminal justice system can better support people who have been raped or sexually assaulted to give evidence.

Its announcement comes as the Rape Monitoring Group (RMG) launched a new interactive web page featuring breakdowns of how rape is dealt with at each stage of the criminal justice system.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Listening to the views of survivors of rape and sexual assault is so important and I am humbled by the courage of those who are prepared to speak out where the system is not delivering for their needs.

“Going through the justice process can be a daunting experience and I am determined that we do more so that all stages are victim-centred and trauma-informed.

“This research will help identify examples of best practice and the changes needed to improve victim-survivor confidence in the system, and ensure it balances responding to the needs of the very vulnerable with the rights of the accused.”

Last year, Rape Crisis Scotland demanded radical change to the criminal justice process after a government report found communication in almost half of rape cases was below expected standards.

Respondents told researchers that going through court was “worse than being raped” and that they were left feeling “totally humiliated” by the experience.

These failings led to 12 per cent of sexual offence complainers withdrawing from the process.

On Thursday (May 24), the RMG published a new interactive online dashboard for rape.

While past information on how rape is dealt with locally has been released in separate digests by force area, this year’s figures will be incorporated into one web page via Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

The SCCJR’s findings will be published in a report next February.

Welcoming the Scottish government announcement, Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “We need to hear directly from rape survivors about their experience of the justice process, good and bad, if we are to improve how we support them throughout the process.

“This research will play an important role in helping us consider how to secure better evidence, and any steps that can be taken to reduce any avoidable distress or trauma.”