key links
2006 What's New
Less than 15% of rapes are reported. Only 1 in 5 reported rapes make it to court and only 6% result in conviction. Support Fawcett's campaign - pledge your support or make a donation and help get justice for women. See Rape Appeal
Research Survey
We have received a request from a researcher who asks for volunteers to complete her survey. This survey will be accessible from the 20th November 2006 and will close on 22nd January 2007. If you are interested please follow the link to the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=445532715308
We feel a useful part of the rape crisis movement is to encourage debate and discussion. To this end we have introduced a showcase of student work which helps to extend the debate on rape and sexual violence. Look at the Articles section.
CIS'ters Conference
CIS’ters Conference - Sat 4th Nov 06
Is labelling part of the problem ?
Considering the ‘wider impact’ of childhood sexual abuse.
This Conference will explore the impact that ‘labelling’ has on society and individuals.
Southampton University, Hampshire, England
See Flyer for more details
The Truth About Rape campaign has a new series of postcards. See their website for further details.
http://www.truthaboutrape.co.uk
The Women’s Resource Centre (WRC) launched the Why Women? campaign on Thursday 23 March 2006 at WRC's conference, Thriving or Surviving? The Future of the Women’s Voluntary and Community Sector.
The campaign calls for better recognition and greater support for the women’s sector by government and is supported by a website http://www.whywomen.org.uk/index.htm
Responses are requested on the Government's plans on changes in rape law. Click here for the Consultation Document (Acrobat Reader required)
Anyone can send a response in to this document. If you would like to say something about the document but would prefer to send it to us then please email us with your comments at info@rapecrisis.org.uk
This consultation paper sets out four proposals which the Government believe will improve the conviction rate through:
● strengthening the existing legal framework
● helping to reduce the barriers to effective prosecution
● improving further our care for victims and witnesses.
What is the Government consulting on?
In this paper, the Government is consulting on four proposals:
1.‘Capacity’ in relation to consent
2. Expert evidence
3. First complaint
4. Special measures: use of pre-recorded video evidence
Responses to this Consultation Paper
Responses should be sent to:
Stephen Jones
Better Trials Unit
Office for Criminal Justice Reform
Ground Floor Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Tel: 020 7035 8456
Fax: 020 7035 8601
Email: stephen.jones@cjs.gsi.gov.uk
The final date for receipt of responses is 31 July 2006.
The BBC has revealed that the number of rapists given a caution and freed instead of facing jail terms has more than doubled in the past decade. They cite Home Office figures which reveal that in 2004, 40 offenders were cautioned for rape - compared with 19 in 1994.
Rape Crisis chairwoman Nicole Westmarland said: "It is completely unacceptable that rapists are able to continue living their day-to-day lives or even be free to rape again. We are shocked... so many cautions have been given in rape cases. Rape is a crime that has a serious impact on its victims for years or even decades."
The number of reported rapes reported is rising - but only 5.6% of 11,766 reports in 2002 led to a rapist being convicted.
In 2004, the Crown Prosecution Service launched new rules on the handling of cases, after Home Office figures revealed wide variations in conviction rates across England and Wales.
In 2005, BBC News reported that a review would be launched by the Metropolitan police when it was found that one in five reported rapes led to a caution or charge.
Read further details of this South African campaign on our links page.
Amnesty are holding a one day conference in April 1st on men's role in ending violence against women. Click here for the flyer.
News has been announced on plans to allow expert witnesses to testify in rape trials, for evidence to be presented in video and for a more comprehensive definition of consent. The BBC website gives further information on this and also provides a video of a rape survivor to give voice to women's experience. Rape Crisis will keep a watching brief on these developments to see if they make any difference to the current all-time low conviction level. According to Home Office figures, only 5.8% of reported rapes in 2004 resulted in a conviction.
At the same time however, draft guidelines for judges will result in rape sentences being cut by up to 15% because the Sentencing Guidelines Council believes jail is now "more demanding". The current average sentence of around 7 years means that most rapists only serve around 42 months in prison, less if they were held on remand before sentencing. Baroness Scotland responded to criticisms of this in the letters page of the Observer announcing a "campaign to educate young men about the need to gain consent before having sex; sex without consent is rape". Sex without consent is rape and yet we still have a conviction rate of just 5.8% - something is definitely wrong.
Something is also wrong with the campaign she announced. The Government is funding a £500,000 campaign launched on 20 March consisting of adverts in men's magazines, stickers on condom machines and posters in pub toilets. The posters have been criticised for their imagery in objectifying women's bodies. Such sexualisation of women's bodies is detrimental to the message. One poster is of a woman, severed at torso and knee and so reduced to nothing more than a close-up of her knickers and a No Entry sign.
Justice in the USA?
While we concentrate here on the UK, in the US disturbing reports point to real injustice for rape survivors. The judge in a rape case had decided that it was reasonable for the woman to be made to watch a video-tape of the rape. The woman, who was 16 years old and unconscious at the time of the assault, faced being jailed on a contempt of court charge. She objected to this and will not now have to watch the tape but a courtroom screening is still planned, despite the court having already found the tape to be child pornography.
See Feministing for more debate on this.
Rape Crisis Conference
February 2006 saw a successful conference of rape crisis groups. Attended by representatives from most of the rape crisis groups currently operating in England and Wales, the conference focused on connecting the local with the national and how this can strengthen the work of the movement.
New Members-only Area
A members area of this website was developed in response to the conference and further details can be obtained from info@rapecrisis.org.uk
Justice for Rape Victims?
While we concentrate here on the UK, in the US disturbing reports point to real injustice for rape survivors. The judge in a rape case had decided that it was reasonable for the woman to be made to watch a video-tape of the rape. The woman, who was 16 years old and unconscious at the time of the assault, faced being jailed on a contempt of court charge. She objected to this and will not now have to watch the tape but a courtroom screening is still planned, despite the court having already found the tape to be child pornography.
See Feministing for more debate on this.