CWJ welcomes a new report by Rape Crisis England and Wales (RCEW).
RCEW have released new research showing the devastating impact of the Crown Court backlog on victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse. The new report, Living in Limbo, updates the data from their 2023 report, Breaking Point, which showed the extent of the damage already being done by a desperately under-resourced court system. This new report reveals the ongoing, and compounding harm since then.
The data is stark: since 2023, the number of sexual offence cases awaiting trial has increased by 66%. Waiting times are shocking: adult survivors of rape are waiting on average 499 days to see their day in court, compared to only 284 days for other crimes.
While the numbers speak for themselves, the individual human stories are also distressing. At CWJ, we are aware of cases where women have been pushed to attempting suicide as a result of adjournments and long delays in their cases. Rape Crisis share many more stories of survivors who experience extreme anxiety, flashbacks, and suicidal ideation as they live through ongoing court delays. One survivor, Abbie*, comments:
“I have felt like my life has been paused, like I'm stuck in time, and it doesn't matter to the justice system. I have to get on with my life but everyday there's a burden, a shadow, in the back of my mind. I'm just waiting for the next trial date to be cancelled, which is wrong, but it's happened twice before.”
This is not justice. Harriet Wistrich, CEO of Centre for Women’s Justice, comments:
“We see every day the devastating impact that ongoing court delays have on victim survivors of rape. Victim attrition rates are high – in no small part because of the hell survivors are put through once they report. If we want a justice system that actually works to prevent and punish sexual violence, we need courts with sufficient resources to function. The government will not achieve its mission to halve VAWG in a decade without significant changes in this area.”
CWJ shares RCEW’s call for urgent action to resolve the systemic issues plaguing survivors who try to access our justice system. The causes of these delays are not new or unknown: underfunding of the criminal legal profession, insufficient judicial capacity, underuse and poor condition of the Court estate, and inefficient listing practices have been reported on for years.
We join RCEW in calling for:
1. Priority listing of rape and sexual offences – with no more ‘floating’ trials
2. A long-term strategy to recruit and retain criminal barristers
3. Long-term funding for specialist sexual violence and abuse support services.