Leader: Justice Must Not Continue to Fail the Victims of Rape
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Summary
IN MAY, the Home Office published the first European-wide study of rape conviction rates. It revealed that Britain came bottom of the 33 countries studied. In 2006-7, the proportion of reported rapes that ended in a conviction was just 6.5 per cent in England and Wales, and a tiny 2.9 per cent in Scotland. France, by comparison, had a conviction rate of 25 per cent.
The Scottish Parliament is to be congratulated for taking direct action to improve rape conviction rates. In 2006, Elish Angiolini, then Solicitor General, announced that the Crown would always have a presumption in favour of initiating a rape prosecution, provided there was credible evidence. The new Sexual Offences Bill, presently going through Holyrood, will introduce a tighter definition of what constitutes lack of consent. This includes a victim being incapable through alcohol.See the full content of this document
Extract
Leader: Justice Must Not Continue to Fail the Victims of Rape
As a result of these moves and others, the conviction rate in Scotland - as a proportion of reported rapes - has increased to 3.7 per cent in 2007-8. This is progress and should be welcomed. However, it represents no great step change in conviction...
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