Government commits to law change that will restrict victims’ previous experiences of rape and sexual violence being used against them in court.
The government has announced today (Wednesday 3 December) that they will be making changes in forthcoming legislation to restrict the use of so-called ‘victim bad character’ evidence.
As it stands, when a victim / survivor of rape reports the offence to the police, we see that previous disclosures of rape and sexual violence they have made are used against them as evidence of their ‘bad character’, even when these previous experiences are completely unconnected to the case. This is a defence strategy to present the jury with an unfair or twisted narrative that the survivor is untruthful, when there is actually no evidence of this. This is an incredibly harrowing and re-traumatising experience and is often sprung on the victim without any warning during the trial.
Sexual violence is common and we know that it is perfectly plausible for a person to experience more than one incident of sexual violence across their lifetime. Furthermore, particular groups of women and girls are more likely to be targeted and less likely to be believed, for example young women, Black and minoritised women, and disabled women.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Strategic Risk Assessment 2023 found 25% of victim/survivors were identified as being repeat victims of VAWG.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that 1 in 2 adult survivors of rape have been raped more than once.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that almost a third (31%) of adults abused as children experience sexual assault in later life.
Campaign partners Centre for Women’s Justice, End Violence against Women Coalition, Imkaan, Rape Crisis England & Wales and Rights of Women have worked tirelessly on a campaign to challenge this practice, and extend solidarity to all victims and survivors affected by this appalling experience. As expert organisations who have been campaigning for changes in the ways so-called ‘victim bad character’ evidence is used, we strongly welcome this gesture of commitment towards improving survivor experience.
“As a victim of sexual violence who has been victimised multiple times this news is groundbreaking. These changes bring a new hope for survivors, especially those most vulnerable who are asked invasive and inappropriate question at trial causing great re-traumatisation.” Survivor Chantelle*, a supporter of the campaign
Andrea Simon, Director of End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), says:
“The criminal justice system has for too long been a site of re-traumatisation rather than justice, no more so than when defence lawyers attempt to use the previous, unconnected experiences of rape and abuse to try and discredit a victim. It is traumatising and unacceptable. Our Bad Experiences Not Bad Character campaign has pushed for this to change. We welcome the government’s commitment to restrict this practice, and await further detail on how this will be meaningfully implemented. This means not just changes in courtrooms but across the whole system. The fact is that many women will experience multiple incidents of sexual violence in their lifetime, so police and CPS cannot justify closing a case because a victim has had prior experiences of rape and sexual violence.”
Nogah Ofer, Solicitor at Centre for Women’s Justice, says:
“We now know that many women experience sexual violence more than once in their life, and some vulnerable women suffer repeat victimisation. It is completely unacceptable for the legal system to treat such women as liars who make false allegations. We have seen the law being applied improperly at every stage: trawling through counselling records, cases being dropped and some women cross-examined in court on irrelevant prior experiences. We welcome a strengthening of the law to provide protection from this.”
Maxime Rowson, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Rape Crisis England & Wales, says:
“We know that 1 in 2 adult survivors of rape have experienced sexual violence more than once. It is therefore deeply unfair for previous unrelated disclosures of rape and sexual assault to ever be used to undermine and discredit their accounts in front of a jury, or indeed to stop their case progressing pre-charge. Reporting takes immense courage and anyone who chooses to do so needs and deserves to be treated with dignity, fairness and respect. After campaigning against this harmful practice, we welcome Government action to restrict the use of ‘victim bad character’ evidence in sexual offences trials. If implemented effectively, this law will provide greater protection for victims and survivors, and help to restore public faith in our criminal justice system.”
A spokesperson from Imkaan says:
“Black and minoritised women are disproportionately harmed by the misuse of so-called ‘victim bad character’ evidence. Today’s announcement is an important and overdue step toward protecting survivors who have already shown immense courage in reporting rape and sexual abuse. We strongly welcome the Government’s commitment to restrict the use of such evidence, and we urge Ministers to bring these changes into the Victims and Courts Bill without delay. Every day that passes under the current system leaves Black and minoritised survivors at risk of being retraumatised and discredited simply for seeking justice. Meaningful reform cannot wait.”
Hannah Couchman, Barrister at Rights of Women, says:
“The women we support through our legal advice services are invariably re-traumatised and re-victimised by the criminal justice process. We stand alongside survivors and our sister organisations in demanding that problematic attitudes towards women and the violence they experience are exposed and remedied wherever they have become entrenched in the way we respond to VAWG, and welcome Government action to this end.”
ENDS
Notes:
*Pseudonym has been used