Background

As part of the Committee’s overarching work into violence against women and girls, the Committee wishes to explore the key question of why rape prosecutions are falling.

Reports of rape and sexual offences are increasing, while the number of prosecutions and convictions are decreasing.

Since 2014, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decisions to prosecute have fallen by 51% – almost double the rate of the drop in police referrals to the CPS which are down by 27%.

CPS data published in January 2021 shows that there were 524 prosecutions from April to September 2020. There were 397 convictions resulting from those 524 prosecutions.

In 2019-20, police recorded 55,130 rapes, while the most recent CPS data shows that there were 2,102 prosecutions and 1,439 convictions for rape in England and Wales in 2019-20. The BBC has reported that, in the year to March 2020, just 1.4% of rape cases recorded by police resulted in a suspect being charged (or receiving a summons).

The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales Dame Vera Baird has warned that rape is being decriminalised. The Director of Public Prosecutions has also suggested that there should be a ‘frank and full conversation’ about the fall in the number of rape prosecutions and convictions.

Terms of reference

The Committee invites evidence on the following points:

• Whether victims have access to justice, whether witnesses are sufficiently supported, and whether there are sufficient safeguards for those who are accused of rape and sexual offences to ensure that they receive a fair trial;
• The role of the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the courts in reporting, prosecuting and convicting in cases of rape and sexual assault, including the advice and guidance that is used to train, educate and support those involved in the disclosure, charging and prosecution of rape;
• What the barriers are to reporting, charging, prosecuting and convicting rape and sexual assaults;
• Challenges around disclosure and whether the current disclosure arrangements affect the reporting, investigation, prosecution and sentencing of rape cases;
• The success of organisational strategies and plans, for example the Joint National Disclosure Improvement Plan and the CPS’ RASSO 2025 strategy.

The Committee is keen to understand from victims and survivors of rape and serious sexual assault what changes they think could help improve the experience of reporting what has happened to the police and going to court to get justice.

If you would like to submit your lived experience to the Committee, you can find questions about going through the criminal justice system following experiences of sexual violence here. You can also share why you might have chosen not to go through the criminal justice system. Responses to these questions should be received by 11 May 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact homeaffcom@parliament.uk

Submissions on the terms of reference set out above should be received by 12 noon on Monday 7 June 2021.

For full details on the submission process and to complete a submission online go to

https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/464/investigation-and-prosecution-of-rape/

April 30, 2021