Really Useful Reports
The reports below can be really useful for campaigners and researchers:
From End Violence Against Women (EVAW): "Realising Rights, Fulfilling Obligations"
3 million women across the UK will experience rape, domestic violence, trafficking or other violence this year. The government's response is fractured with separate policies on specific forms of violence, Rape Crisis Centres and other specialist services facing closure due to funding cuts and no plan to prevent violence in the first place.
YouGov polling for EVAW shows that 8 in 10 people support a cross-government strategy to end violence against women. EVAW has published a blueprint for action setting out what governments at all levels should be doing.
The blueprint, Realising Rights, Fulfilling Obligations is available at:
www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/data/files/realising_rights.pdf (PDF 443kB)
Updated 16th August 2008
Postcode lottery means rape five times less likely to be convicted in worst areas
New government figures reveal huge deficiencies in police responses to rape in many parts of the UK:
- In some areas women who report rape are almost five times less likely to achieve a conviction than in others.
- In Leicestershire, less than one in thirty five women who report rape secure a conviction. In Cleveland, one in seven reported rapes are convicted.
- The conviction rate has got worse in 18 out of 43 police areas since 2004.
- In many areas, convictions rates have dropped dramatically, falling by over 60% in Bedfordshire.
See our map of variations in successful Rape Conviction Rates in England & Wales.
Statistics are also provided by The Fawcett Society in the document and map linked below:
Katherine Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society, has said:
"These disturbing figures reveal that women face a postcode lottery when reporting rape to the police. It is entirely unacceptable that the standard of service rape victims receive is dependent on where they live."
For more information, visit: www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
Updated 30th July 2008
CPS Strategy on Violence Against Women is published
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now published its Violence Against Women Strategy and Action Plans. End Violence Against Women (EVAW) members provided input into this work to ensure it takes a gendered approach and addresses all forms of violence including rape, domestic violence, forced marriage, trafficking, sexual exploitation etc. There has been widespread support for the CPS in being the first government department to do this.
(information from End Violence Against Women April 2008)
CPS: Violence against Women Strategy and Action Plans (DOC 1.2MB) - external link
Updated 30th April 2008
Is Government action making the grade?
End Violence Against Women (EVAW) has published its annual assessment of what UK Government Departments are doing to tackle violence against women, Making the Grade? (PDF). The overall score is just 2 out of 10. An Assessment of Northern Ireland Departments (PDF) was also carried out for the first time and the overall score was just 1 out of 10.
EVAW commends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for scoring top marks for the second year running. The CPS is leading the way across Whitehall in developing a Violence Against Women Strategy. However, it is disappointing that other departments are still failing to take this issue seriously meaning that policies on poverty, education and social exclusion do not make the connection to violence against women.
Professor Liz Kelly, Chair of EVAW said:
"We welcome the development of a cross-government approach to violence against women. However Making the Grade? shows major gaps in policy and we are calling on Minister for Women, Harriet Harman, to now deliver on her commitment to developing a strategy to end all forms of violence against women."
Listen to Liz Kelly, Harriet Harman and Dr Nicole Westmarland of Rape Crisis discuss the issues on Woman's Hour programme on BBC Radio 4.
Making the Grade? 2007 Northern Ireland March 2008
EVAW has published the first ever independent assessment of Government initiatives on violence against women in Northern Ireland, Making the Grade? 2007 Northern Ireland. The Government's overall score was just 1 out of 10.
Updated 25th April 2008
Violence against women: Hard knock life
Justine Järvinen, Angela Kail & Iona Miller - New Philanthropy Capital (Independent research and advice to help donors direct their support for maximum impact).
You probably think you don't know a woman who has been affected by domestic or sexual violence. But since nearly one in every two women in the UK has experienced violence, chances are you do.
Hard knock life, NPC's report on violence against women, shows donors that there are proven ways to keep women safe and help women recover from abuse.
To download full Report (132 pages), visit: www.philanthropycapital.org/downloads/pdf/Hard%20knock%20life.pdf
To download Summary, visit: www.philanthropycapital.org/downloads/pdf/Hard%20knock%20life%20summary.pdf
Did you know?
- A woman is more likely to be sexually assaulted than she is to get breast cancer
- Two thirds of women in prostitution started before they were 16
- 3,000 forced marriages take place in the UK every year.
Private donors can make a huge difference in this sector by:
- preventing the problem happening, by working with vulnerable girls who might grow up to become victims, or by changing the attitudes of the general public towards the issue of violence against women.
- supporting charities that provide specialist services for victims and help to keep them safe, including counselling and support through the justice system.
Also see the article in: The Independent (23 April 2008)
Updated 23rd April 2008
Women's Organisations in the United Kingdom 2008
The Women's National Commission is the official, independent, advisory body giving the views of women to the Government. Visit their website for publications and information on consultations, conferences, etc.: www.thewnc.org.uk
NEW PUBLICATION NEW PUBLICATION: The WNC's 'Women's Organisations in the United Kingdom 2008' directory is now available. There are three versions, alphabetical, regional and by main interest.
The reports are available to download at www.thewnc.org.uk/publications/
Updated 27th February 2008
Why we need Rape Crisis Centres and Sexual Assault Referral Centres
The development of provision for victims-survivors of sexual assault has historically been piecemeal and locally specific. Rape Crisis Centres (RCCs) and, more recently, Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), have been established in certain parts of the UK but there is a lack of uniformity.
- There is currently confusion at the political and policy levels in understanding the role each type of service plays in supporting victims-survivors and in terms of which is most actively promoted. It would even appear that the government is an exponent of SARCs whilst the opposition supports RCCs
- This briefing shows that both RCCs and SARCs are vital for survivors and delivery of policy targets: this is not a case of either/or but both/and.
Why we need Rape Crisis Centres and Sexual Assault Referral Centres (PDF 1.0MB)
Please note: this report is a PDF file, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader or Access Adobe.
Updated 20th February 2008
Violent Crime Action Plan
The Violent Crime Action Plan has just been published on the Home Office site. One of the key objectives is to ensure that victims of violence have access to better care and support. The Home Office state that:
- We will ensure that suitable support services are available to victims of violence, and will rebalance the Criminal Justice System in favour of victims.
- We will support all partnerships to offer independent advisory services to victims of sexual and domestic violence and, where appropriate, other forms of violence where victims are particularly vulnerable.
- We will implement the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings to ensure minimum standards and rights for all identified victims of human trafficking.
- We will support local partnerships to expand the Specialist Court model beyond domestic violence, to cover other forms of violence where victims are particularly vulnerable.
The report is available to download at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/violent-crime-action-plan
Updated 20th February 2008
"Women Not for Sale"
New report titled Women Not For Sale, published in January 2008, is available on the Government Equalities Office (GEO) website (www.equalities.gov.uk).
Women Not For Sale sets out findings from research commissioned to establish the scale of advertising of women and services offered by women in personal classifieds in the English regional and local press. The research found that the advertising of women, either discreetly or overtly, for sex or sexual services in the regional press is commonplace. Typically, these advertisements are sandwiched between innocuous advertisements for other services and goods.
The report can be accessed at the following link: www.equalities.gov.uk/publications/Women_Not_For_Sale.pdf (PDF 284kB)
Please note: this report is a PDF file, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader or Access Adobe.
Updated 8th February 2008
Investigating and detecting recorded offences of rape
This new report summarises the findings of a study of attrition in reported offences of rape of a female in England and Wales in 2003/04. It was designed to explore several aspects around the detection and conviction of rape cases: the reasons behind the decline in recorded detection rates for rape since 1997; why marked variations in detection rates exist in different forces; and what factors best predict whether a recorded offence gets to court and results in a conviction.
The study was conducted in eight forces in England and Wales. Forces were selected to reflect the range of reported detection rate performance: three forces were selected on the grounds of having high detection rates for rape; two forces were selected for generally low detection rates. Three forces were selected because they featured in a previous comparable study of rape attrition. The intention was to collect a random sample of 100 initially crimed rapes of females (all ages) recorded by the police in 2003/04 in each force area. For each case, the police and Crown Prosecution Service case file was retrieved and coded. In total, data on 676 cases were collected.
For more information, visit: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/rdsolr1807.pdf (PDF 711kB)
Please note: this report is a PDF file, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader or Access Adobe.
Updated 20th July 2007
Home Office New Sexual Violence Action Plan
Government work on sexual violence and abuse is brought together in the cross-government Sexual Violence and Abuse Action Plan (SVAAP), published on 2 April. This includes work underway and work planned for the future to address all aspects of sexual violence, from prevention through to victim care and the response of the criminal justice system.
The purpose of the Action Plan is to:
- Tell stakeholders and members of the public what the government seeks to achieve in relation to sexual violence and abuse
- Identify the actions that are being taken to deliver objectives
- Identify gaps in existing work which require further consideration
- Increase transparency and enable accountability on delivery of objectives
- Provide a platform for developing a more strategic and holistic approach to tackling sexual violence and abuse
You can access the plan on the web at:
www.crimereduction.gov.uk/sexualoffences/sexual03.htm
Updated 20th April 2007
Fawcett Society - Women and Justice Report
This report, published on Wednesday 25 July, examines the work that has been done in the last year to improve the criminal justice system for women, as offenders, victims and staff and concludes that:
Prison is overused, ineffective and often damaging for many women offenders, while existing community sentences often fail to meet the needs of women. Services for female victims of crime are geographically patchy and vary in quality. Violence against women remains at crisis levels, and the Government has failed to produce a national strategy to address violence against women, a key recommendation of last year's Commission report. The implementation of the gender equality duty must be prioritised across the criminal justice system to ensure that all criminal justice agencies are meeting their legal obligations.
Fawcett Society - Women and Justice Report (PDF 274kB)
Please note: this report is a PDF file, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader or Access Adobe.
The report was launched at an event on 25 July 2007. The keynote speaker was Rt Hon David Hanson MP from the Ministry of Justice. You can download a copy of his speech from the Fawcett Society web site: www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
Updated 2nd August 2007
Home Office Report: investigating and detecting recorded offences of rape
This report summarises the findings of a study of attrition in reported offences of rape of a female in England and Wales in 2003/04. It was designed to explore several aspects around the detection and conviction of rape cases: the reasons behind the decline in recorded detection rates for rape since 1997; why marked variations in detection rates exist in different forces; and what factors best predict whether a recorded offence gets to court and results in a conviction.
You can access the report on the web at:
Home Office Report: investigating and detecting recorded offences of rape (PDF 695kB)
Please note: this report is a PDF file, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader or Access Adobe.
Updated 7th September 2007
The Corston Report: a review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system
This report by Baroness Jean Corston is a review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system, outlining the need for a distinct radically different, visibly-led, strategic, proportionate, holistic, woman-centred, integrated approach.
You can access the report on the web at:
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/corston-report/
Updated 20th April 2007
H.M. Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate - "Without Consent"
H.M. Crown Prosecution Inspectorate has published a thematic report called "Without Consent". This report is a joint review of the investigation and prosecution of rape offences. A copy of the report may be downloaded below:
H.M. Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate - "Without Consent" (PDF 1.44MB)
Please note: this report is a PDF file, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader or Access Adobe.
One of the recommendations coming out of the Report is to establish more Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC) and consequently more capital funding has been released by central government with the aim of increasing SARC's from 14 to 40. However, the sexual violence sector are extremely concerned that without ensuring support, advocacy and counselling services are also in place developing SARC's cannot fully address the serious deficiencies identified in the review or advance the overall care and support provided to survivors of sexual violence.
Rape Conviction Rates in England & Wales
An analysis of Home Office data shows the gulf between reported cases of rape and those that end with a conviction. In 1980, one in three reported rapes ended in convictions. Today only one in 20 does. Only about half of reported rapes get past the initial police investigation stage and a quarter end up being reported as no crime having taken place. Successful Rape Conviction Rates in England & Wales vary widely between police forces.
A prediction for 2010 from Truth About Rape
The recently released rape report states:
"In 2001, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) conducted a joint thematic inspection into the investigation and prosecution of rape offences. The purpose of that inspection was "to analyse and assess the quality of the investigation, decision making and prosecution by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of allegations of rape". In doing so, its aim was to ascertain, if possible, the reasons for the high attrition rate and make recommendations to address this. Published in April 2002, the report made a total of 18 recommendations and three suggestions to improve:
- the investigation of rape cases by the police;
- guidance and training for both the police and prosecutors;
- the quality of advice, decision making, case preparation and presentation at court by prosecutors; and
- the treatment of victims and witnesses in cases involving allegations of rape.
In response, the Government published a Rape Action Plan (RAP) in July 2002, accepting virtually all of the recommendations put forward by the HMIC/HMCPSI report. Despite the relevant agencies having agreed to the RAP, research has continued to provide a picture of increasing attrition rates. As a result, in February 2005, a two-stage process to review progress on the way in which reports of rape are investigated and prosecuted was agreed by the Home Office, the police, the CPS, HMIC and HMCPSI, and comprised:
- a stocktake to assess progress specifically on the measures set out in the RAP; and
- a follow-up to the 2002 thematic inspection to be carried out by HMIC and HMCPSI."
So what is the above saying? That there was a review in 2001, recommendations were made, a plan to implement the recommendations followed in 2002, another review was conducted in 2005 and here we are in 2007 with another report which gives more recommendations. NONE OF WHICH HAVE MADE THE SLIGHTEST DIFFERENCE TO HOW RAPE IS INVESTIGATED OR PROSECUTED.
WE PREDICT by 2010 we will be in exactly the same position with more promises of research, recommendations and reports from the Home Office. For how much longer can the Home Office continue to hoodwink the country while tens of thousands of pounds are spent on research that does little more than replicate research of the past by telling us what we already know and while rape crisis groups close?
The report gives a checklist of previous recommendations that were made and the progress that has been made on each one (see pages 164 - 168). Their idea of progress is quite fantastical however. Here is an example (pretty much chosen at random because so many claims of progress could be challenged):
"Recommendation: All rape cases be allocated to specialist lawyers, who should be responsible for the case from advice stage to conclusion of any proceedings.
Substantial progress Rape specialists have been introduced and are responsible for the majority of cases. (Reservations about their qualifications are expressed elsewhere.) The use of non-specialist duty prosecutors at charging centres means that some advice, especially in custody cases, may not be given by specialists". (p165)
The 'reservations about qualifications' of the so-called specialist prosecutors the above refers to is this section of the report from page 95:
"The CPS considers the specialist lawyer to be the keystone of the effective prosecution of rape cases. However, there is no set standard of competence for that specialism, and we found a wide range of practice and opinion. Generally, the specialists are experienced lawyers and must have attended the training course on sexual offences. Some are also required to have attended the course on Speaking Up for Justice (about special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses). Some had dealt regularly with rape cases; others, although experienced lawyers, had worked only in the magistrates' courts for a number of years and had not been allocated a rape case in that time. Lawyers might be appointed who had never dealt with a rape case from beginning to end". (There are a whole bunch of other 'reservations' expressed but you get the idea)
Ummm - how can that be defined as 'Substantial progress'??
The report is saying:
- there is no standard of competence - what if there was no standards of competence for doctors: the country would be in uproar!
- They must have attended a course on sexual offences - how long does it last - what does it consist of - is there a test that they are required to pass or is it enough just to attend?
- Some have dealt with rape cases and others have not.
Wow, substantial progress indeed - specialist lawyers who have no recognised level of competence or experience! It would be like attending a university who advertised their academic body as experts and finding out they didn't have GCSEs (never mind degrees) of their own.
These are the very problems that we and other groups have been campaigning on for years but where we say 'the standard of competence of prosecutors is woefully inadequate and fails to deliver justice to women' this report congratulates itself!!
If George Orwell was alive he would certainly recognise this as 'Doublespeak' - language deliberately constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning.
Updated 13th February 2007
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