Mr.Talha Posted June 18, 2021 Posted June 18, 2021 Speaking to the BBC, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland apologised to victims and promised to "do a lot better". He also admitted budget cuts were partly to blame for convictions falling to a record low in recent years. The government says it is now considering allowing victims to pre-record their evidence to spare them the trauma of a courtroom trial. Its review also outlined plans to focus more on the suspect's behaviour - not the accuser's, and make sure phones taken away for evidence-gathering were returned within a day. The review was met with mixed responses, with one rape charity saying it was a missed opportunity and failed to identify any big commitments that would radically and swiftly improve rape victims' experience. Labour said the government had "failed victims of rape on every front" and its recommendations did not go far enough. Laura Kuenssberg: Apology to rape victims matters, but actions count Why are rape prosecutions falling? Calls for rape victims to pre-record evidence Speaking to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Buckland said the report revealed "at all stages of the criminal justice process frankly a failure to deal with complaints made by many thousands of victims". "The first thing I think I need to say is, sorry - it's not good enough." 'Deeply ashamed' In a foreword to the review, Mr Buckland, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Attorney General Michael Ellis, said: "The vast majority of victims do not see the crime against them charged and reach a court - one in two victims withdraw from rape investigations. "These are trends of which we are deeply ashamed," they wrote. "Victims of rape are being failed." They went on to say that most rapes were carried out by people known to the victim, making investigations very personal and intrusive for the victim. The trauma and their experience afterwards led many to disengage from the criminal justice process, they said. "We are not prepared to accept that rape is just 'too difficult' a crime to prosecute. We can, and must, do better," they added. line 'It felt like it was my character being judged' media captionKatherine: "I feel really sad that it's taken this for them to listen" Katherine Araniello says she felt she wanted to take her own life after her rape case was dropped "practically on the eve of the trial" by the Crown Prosecution Service. She says she was given an explanation as to why her case was dropped but it was only "very vague". "They didn't call me in to iron out any issues they might have at their end." She says she felt like "it was my character" the Crown Prosecution Service were judging, not that of the alleged perpetrator, and her treatment by the CPS "really stung, and it still stings to this day". "That lack of acknowledgment from the CPS on how to treat victims, highly traumatised victims as well, has left me really angry with the system," she says. "They haven't learned their lessons." line Each year there are about 128,000 victims of rape and attempted rape but fewer than 20% of them report the crime to the police, according to the report. And just 1.6% of rapes result in someone being charged. Emily Hunt, an independent adviser to the review and herself a rape victim, said the low prosecution rate was not because people made false allegations. She cited Home Office research showing up to 3% of rape allegations could be false, which meant 97% of them were not. "The reality is, in almost all cases, if someone says they've been raped, they have not made it up which makes the current situation all the more shocking and unacceptable," she said in the report. What's the new plan? Plans set out in the report include: Introducing better data extraction technology to reduce the time that victims are without their phones - with an aim to have them returned by police within 24 hours. Currently this process can take months causing distress for victims left phoneless at a time when they most need support from friends and family Putting greater emphasis on understanding a suspect's behaviour rather than focusing on a victim's credibility Sparing victims the trauma of attending a courtroom trial by videoing their cross-examination earlier in the process and away from the courtroom. A pilot will be trialled in several courts, with a wider rollout considered. This measure is already used for children and vulnerable victims and witnesses
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