Hansard

I am pleased to open the debate on behalf of Scottish Labour and to speak to the amendment in Pauline McNeill’s name.

I thank everyone who has contributed to the framework, which is a substantial document. We very much hope that it assists with work across the criminal justice sector to address the multiple ways that the justice system exacerbates the experience of trauma for many victims and witnesses. We also hope that it helps to address the impact of experience of the justice system, which is often described by victims as “retraumatising”.

The framework outlines in detail the impact that psychological trauma can have and the need for a person-centred approach. We support the Scottish Government in work to drive a better understanding of the impact of trauma across the system, but we must recognise that our current criminal justice system deals with those issues very poorly, unfortunately.

The trauma that witnesses experience has been known and discussed for decades. The Scottish Labour Party is currently carrying out our own consultation on ending violence and sexual harassment against women, and Pauline McNeill and I are undertaking meetings throughout the country. The emotional and physical risks and difficulties that victims face pre-trial, during trial and at sentencing are raised again and again.

When the Criminal Justice Committee met rape survivors, we heard harrowing testimony. Rape survivors described extremely poor experiences of the criminal justice system, which they felt let them down. Complainers said that giving evidence and their wider experience of the criminal justice system could be as traumatising as the crime itself. The terms “retraumatising” and “second violation” are repeatedly used.

We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge of changing practice in the justice system, because to deliver the necessary change there needs to be greater awareness of the need for trauma-informed practice, and many aspects of the justice system need to be fundamentally changed. The current legal process is not organised around the needs of victims. We need to consider how we can improve the experience of victims and witnesses and ensure outcomes that deliver in the interests of justice.

We are concerned that the new framework cannot be implemented unless the serious challenges that the criminal justice system currently faces are addressed. We have the highest remand rates in western Europe, crowded prisons, extensive court backlogs, a rise in recorded sexual offences, a shortage of criminal justice social workers and a crisis in legal aid. We know that, during the pandemic, the High Court backlogs disproportionately affected women and children, with sexual crimes amounting to more than two thirds of cases waiting to be heard. Our amendment highlights the retraumatising effect of the court process and the impact of court backlogs and delays on victims.

The Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, which the cabinet secretary spoke about, allows for complainers in rape cases to have legal representation when the defence wishes to lead evidence in limited circumstances. We support that, but our amendment invites the Scottish Government to explore further the benefits of expanding the legal advice and representation that are available to victims—in particular, in rape cases.

In recent decades, many other countries with adversarial court systems have introduced greater legal advice for victims and enhanced rights to representation for them in the courts. That seems to have significantly improved the experience of victims in those justice systems. We believe that in order to inform the debate we need to look at what is happening elsewhere.

It is worth saying that Scotland is lagging behind much of Europe on victims’ rights. For example, in Denmark, victims are entitled to state-funded legal advice at the reporting stage, and before and during trial. In Spain, female victims of gender violence have the right to free legal advice, regardless of their resources. In Norway, victims have the right to legal advice before trial and during trial, to the conclusion of the case. For example, a rape victim is entitled to see a lawyer to get legal advice for two hours before they report a rape allegation and they then receive legal representation to the conclusion of the case. Given all the evidence from rape victims about their experience of the justice system, we believe that there is a case for looking at how we can expand the legal support that is available to rape victims in particular, so we ask that the Scottish Government look at what more could be done.

Scottish Labour supports trauma-informed practices for victims and witnesses, but we recognise that that will mean fundamental changes in practice and culture.

The legal profession is threatening to boycott aspects of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill that relate to single-judge rape trials. The cabinet secretary is correct to say that we need partnership and resolve. A great deal more work needs to be done to ensure that reforms can be implemented effectively.

We look forward to hearing contributions to the debate. As a party, we are open to discussing any ideas that will deliver for witnesses and victims.