A rape victim who will have been waiting five years for her case to come to court has said navigating the justice process has had a worse impact on her mental health than the crime itself, leaving her feeling ‘suicidal’ .
The woman, known as Debbie, recently had her case listed but withdrew the day before she was due to appear in court. Now he faces another eight-month wait.
He is among thousands of victims, witnesses and defendants affected by the record backlog of 58,653 Crown court cases in England and Wales, which is set to increase further this summer amid barristers’ strikes.
The industrial action, which will resume on August 1, comes amid calls for “radical action” to support rape victims living in limbo and concerns that a new pilot proposed by the government as apart from “efforts to boost prosecutions and convictions” is a “sticky plaster” that will have little impact.
Rape victims will receive enhanced support at three Crown Courts (Leeds, Newcastle and Snaresbrook in London) in a pilot scheme aimed at “supporting victims, tackling backlogs and reducing delays”.
The courtrooms, which will continue to hear other cases, will be equipped with video technology that will allow pre-recorded evidence from rape survivors to be shown, sparing victims the trauma of attending in person. Court staff, police and prosecutors will receive specialist trauma training as part of the pilot to be rolled out in October.
But London’s victims’ commissioner, Claire Waxman, has questioned the effectiveness of the initiative.
“What we need are courts dedicated to rape and sexual violence on a much larger scale,” he said.
“You can’t do these things without long-term investment. The system is chronically underfunded. Ultimately, the pilot won’t have much impact on the backlog because it’s a plaster stuck on a sinking ship. We need a radical change. The situation is terrible.” The stress of delays for survivors of sexual violence is compounded by potential complications with accessing counselling.
For Debbie, some limited therapy was helpful, but she cannot get long-term support before trial because of the therapy provider’s concerns about notes being requested by the police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
“I wanted to withdraw because I was in desperate need of therapy as I was worried about killing myself and needed to access the services I was unable to access while the case was ongoing,” she said. He has already lost a lot of income by not being able to work consistently. “Reporting the rape and the consequences have led to suicidal thoughts, manic depression, severe anxiety, an inability to connect with people and an extreme distrust of the justice system,” she explained.
Prior to the rape, Debbie reported harassing behavior by the same perpetrator and does not believe the police took appropriate action. “I feel like I slipped through the cracks in the justice system,” he said. “I’ve been depressed about this case for so long now and I feel like that’s what I’m going to be forever.”
Kirsty Brimelow, vice-president of the Criminal Lawyers Association, said government policies were effectively redundant without the specialist lawyers needed to represent victims and accused in such cases.
“Sexual offense cases require a particular skill set, but the pay has gotten so bad that lawyers are refusing to take them,” he said. “Not enough lawyers to defend or prosecute: a double whammy for rape whistleblowers and defendants who might not be guilty.”
Criminal lawyers will receive a 15% rate rise from the end of September, earning £7,000 more a year, according to the government.
But there has been anger that the proposed wage increase will not take effect immediately and will only apply to new cases, not the 58,653 backlogged cases.
Brimelow says: “The £7,000 figure is misleading because it is based on the earnings of the highest-earning defenders. The average annual income of a junior criminal lawyer is £12,200, so the 15% increase would be £1,830 additional”.
New police crime figures show the number of rape offenses (70,330) and the number of all sex offenses (19,683) for the year ending March 2022 are at their highest levels since that the current records were started in 2002-03.
The government says it has introduced a number of measures to speed up justice for victims, including two new “super chambers” in Manchester and Loughborough, allowing up to 250 extra cases a year to be heard in England and Wales.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said rape convictions “have risen by more than a quarter on pre-pandemic levels” and the government is “recruiting more independent sexual violence advisers for victims”.
Siobhan Blake, CPS lead for serious rape and sexual assault prosecutions, urged victims not to delay therapy, adding: “Balancing a victim’s right to privacy with a suspect’s right to a fair trial is a sensitive issue. Therapy notes should only be requested when relevant, and how they can be used should be explained from the outset.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia the Lifeline crisis support service is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org