Meeting of the Parliament 01 May 2018
I thank Kezia Dugdale for bringing this important topic to the chamber. When I first read in the press about this change of policy, I was shocked. Frankly, I thought that it sounded awful.
Sexual violence is a challenging and difficult issue. It is challenging even to talk about, never mind to report and to obtain justice when a person has survived it. I acknowledge that there is a careful balancing act between the needs and views of survivors and the issue of wider public safety—an issue that the state has a duty to uphold.
I and other members who are in the chamber attended the briefing that was given by the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General, which provided some reassurance. I was left in no doubt that the Solicitor General comes at this matter from a position of extensive experience and that the safety and wellbeing of women are at the forefront of her decision making. I fully appreciate the Crown Office’s desire—and, indeed, duty—to see more rape cases prosecuted and more rapists brought to justice, in the interests of justice, public safety and women’s safety. The Solicitor General made it clear when she spoke in the chamber last week that the focus of the revised policy is not to compel rape complainers to testify but to ensure that the decision and, crucially, the responsibility about whether or not to prosecute lies with the Crown. The public safety case for the Crown on prosecuting a dangerous, violent, repeat offender is obvious. However, it must only ever be in exceptional circumstances that a witness warrant is sought. It is crucial that the survivor’s views, welfare and interest remain at the heart of the Crown’s prosecution policy and, to quote the Crown Office,
“will always be a ... significant factor in the decision”.
Failure to live up to that and demonstrate those words in practice would, quite simply, be unacceptable.
Although I might not agree with the motion that the policy needs to be reconsidered, I do agree that we must all redouble our efforts to address the reasons why survivors so often feel unable to continue with the criminal justice process. Confidence in our justice system must be improved.
In November 2017, the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland published its “Thematic Review of the Investigation and Prosecution of Sexual Crimes.” It noted that, although there has been an increase in the reporting of sexual crimes, a high rate of attrition along with a low conviction rate, particularly for offences of rape and attempted rape, remains concerning. It also noted that secondary victimisation, experienced as a result of the trauma of the criminal justice process, is a feature associated with crimes of sexual violence.
I am glad to hear in particular that there will be on-going work with Rape Crisis Scotland on how the change in policy will work in practice and how victims will be supported. We in Parliament can play a part in that by highlighting the issues, challenging the system, and in making sure that our words and actions do not cause more harm. Victims or survivors of sexual crime must be treated sensitively and appropriately by the justice agencies at all levels, at all times.
The policy might be the right thing to do, but if it does not go hand in hand with ensuring greater support for survivors of sexual violence throughout the criminal justice process, it will not succeed in achieving what we all want: justice.