Meeting of the Parliament 01 May 2018
I, too, thank Kezia Dugdale for bringing the matter to the chamber and for giving me an opportunity, which I consider to be very important, to clarify what the policy is and what it is not. I say again—I said this in the question that I answered last week; I also said it in the briefing—that it is not a policy to compel rape victims to come to court.
I add that it is also not a policy of the Scottish Government, but a policy of the Lord Advocate, as head of the independent system of prosecution in Scotland, and at whose side I stand four-square. For as long as I have breath in my body, and as a law officer, I will continue to do all that I can to uphold the rights of victims of rape and to pursue justice against those who perpetrate that crime.
The change in prosecution policy is not about compelling victims of rape to give evidence; it is about being clear and honest with complainers, and those who support them, that the decision on whether a case is to be prosecuted is for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. That is and has to be the case—not because I want it or I think that it is a good idea, but because law and ethics tell me that it is necessary.
It is then about making sure and making clear that the views, interests, welfare and wellbeing of the victim are at the heart of decision making by the Crown, whether the person is being supported by Rape Crisis or not, because, of course, not all the victims and witnesses with whom we deal have advocacy workers.
We deal with a wide range of victims, who have a wide range of issues that might lead to reluctance. If a witness or victim becomes reluctant because they cannot cope, because they have mental health issues, or because giving evidence will harm their wellbeing, that is of course massively important.
As, I think, Maurice Corry said, there is a balancing exercise that we have to undertake in the public interest. It involves, on one hand, bringing perpetrators to justice and protecting women—me, the women in the chamber, our daughters, our sisters, our mothers—from future victimisation and, on the other, considering the impact of giving evidence on the victim. That balancing exercise is one that we need to undertake independently in the public interest. It is the right thing to do, and the policy is all about doing the right thing.
Before the policy change, complainers of all kinds, whether or not they were supported by advocacy workers, in effect had a veto on the prosecution of serious sexual offenders. If they stated that they were reluctant, that was an end of the matter, and it was treated as decisive. Often, given that understanding, the reasons for the complainer’s reluctance were not explored. In that context, we had a situation in which very, very difficult decisions had to be made.