England and Wales to Roll Out Specialist Rape Courts at £23 Million Cost
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Sep 20
England and Wales to Roll Out Specialist Rape Courts at £23 Million Cost
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Sep 20
Summary
Over the next 2 years, every crown court in England and Wales will get at least 1 dedicated courtroom for rape and other sexual-offence cases, with private entrances, separate waiting rooms and fixed trial dates.
£23 million from the Ministry of Justice budget will fund trauma-informed staff training and a single point of contact for each survivor, as the government tries to cut delays and make courts less damaging for victims.
Charlotte Nichols' account of waiting 1,088 days for her rape case to reach court helped drive the changes, which follow earlier plans to give rape victims specialist legal advice throughout the justice process.
Rape Crisis called the package a significant step forward, while Conservatives said reducing delays is long overdue but pressed Labour to drop plans to limit some jury trials.
The rollout addresses years of criticism over low rape prosecution rates and backlogs that charities say have pushed some victims to abandon cases altogether.