With around only 1% of reported cases of rape and sexual assault resulting in convictions, the response to these crimes is already at crisis point, to deny survivors justice and protections at the final stage undermines the seriousness of this crime and jeopardises the safety of women and girls.”
On 6 November, it was revealed that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will include a series of hardline criminal justice measures in his first King’s speech, specifically promising tougher sentences for rapists. This comes despite Chalk’s proposed prison reforms, which do the opposite. “This government has promised they will ‘improve the confidence of victims’, to do this they must restore women’s trust in the police and the criminal justice system. They must ensure they are supporting survivors at every step of the process from having confidence to report crimes committed against them to accessing support services and rebuilding their lives,” says Miller.
Speaking with GLAMOUR, Lucy Hadley, Head of Policy at Women’s Aid, said, “Careful consideration and robust consultation with domestic abuse specialists and survivors will be needed to ensure this policy is safe. While the evidence is clear that short sentences are largely ineffective, we know many perpetrators of domestic abuse could be categorised as ‘lower risk’ or fall into the bracket of ‘shorter sentences’ that risk being axed. These men pose a serious threat to survivors, and it’s essential that sentencing reflects the severity of the crime.”
Peter Nicholls
In England and Wales, over 99% of rapes reported to police do not end in a conviction (per GOV.UK). Convicted rapists not serving prison time is yet another dismissal of victims and their right to justice.
“Robust safeguards need to be in place to manage perpetrators in all parts of the justice system, regardless of the sentence handed down. Recent damning inspections of the Probation Service response to domestic abuse, and the rushed decision to release offenders early from prison, are serious concerns in this regard,” says Hadley. Adding that “Survivors need to feel secure in a justice system that helps them live safely and free from abuse. We want to see urgent action to ensure domestic abuse and violence against women and girls is treated with the seriousness it deserves.”
Women and girls already cannot and do not trust the justice system. This move from the Government will only do more to compound this sentiment. Women’s safety is so often an afterthought in political reform, and until this changes, violence against women and girls will go unpunished.