An increasing backlog of rape and sexual abuse cases is having a devastating effect on victims, according to charity Rape Crisis (Picture: Getty Images)
Rape and sexual abuse victims are suffering the ‘disastrous impact’ of a huge and growing backlog in the crown courts, a new report has found.
The Breaking Point report by Rape Crisis England & Wales reveals there’s a ‘record high’ backlog of 7,859 sexual offence cases and 1,851 adult rape cases.
The charity says the long wait is having a ‘devastating’ effect on victims’ mental health, pushing some to suicide. Others are giving up on pursuing justice.
A Freedom of Information request to HM Courts and Tribunal Service revealed the number of vacated and ineffective, ‘therefore delayed’, rape trials more than doubled from 2019-2020 to 2021-2022.
It also showed the number of trials that were postponed at least once shot up by 133%.
The number of cases with three or more previous trial dates has almost doubled and there were five times as many hearings that had been rescheduled six or more times, the charity said.
There has also been a massive rise in the number of ineffective trials due to lack of prosecution counsel, it added.
The number of rape and sexual abuse cases postponed more than once more than doubled in 12 months (Picture: Getty)
It said a breakdown of reasons for ineffective trial listings given to the Justice Select Committee showed 1,925 instances were due to the prosecution advocate failing to attend in the year to June 20, 2022 – an increase of 1,722 in two years.
Rape Crisis England & Wales’ chief executive Jayne Butler said: ‘In Breaking Point, we shine a light on the disastrous impact that the increasing backlog in the crown courts is having on rape and sexual abuse victims and survivors.
‘The postponing and rescheduling of cases multiple times is devastating the mental wellbeing of victims and survivors: they are being harmed by the criminal justice system.
‘On top of lengthy police investigations lasting years, and long periods of hearing nothing, victims and survivors are facing their cases being rescheduled in the courts – often multiple times – or find that they have not been informed about key developments, such as changes to trial dates.’
Rape Crisis is calling for rape and sexual abuse court cases to be given ‘priority listing’ (Picture: PA)
Ms Butler said the charity has long been calling for the set up of specialist sexual violence and abuse courts, where court staff and judiciary would have ‘trauma-informed training’.
She continued: ‘We are also calling for rape and sexual abuse cases to be given ‘priority listing’, which would see them moved much more quickly through the system and give them a guaranteed court date, reducing the uncertainty that many victims and survivors have told us is causing them extreme stress and anxiety.’
Meanwhile a Ministry of Justice spokesperson insisted the Government was delivering ‘real improvements to the response to rape’.
They said: ‘In the last year alone the number of rape cases referred by the police to the CPS is up more than 50%, the number of suspects charged has increased by 54% and convictions are up by 65% compared to last year.