London's top prosecutor challenges social assumptions on rape victims
30/01/2012
The capital's Chief Crown Prosecutor is calling for a greater debate on ways in which society can challenge, combat and dispel the assumptions and myths associated with rape victims.
"One of the biggest challenges for the prosecution in these cases is to challenge pre-conceived jury assumptions that they bring to the trial. This is particularlytrue in cases where the victim and defendant are known to each other, or where there the victim has consumed alcohol.
"I have today met with practitioners, victims' groups and partners to discuss how we can actively challenge these assumptions. Victims can be reticent tocome forward for fear of being demonised in court and even in the media. As a society we need to be aware that these myths and stereotypes have the potential to influence court outcomes and ultimately lives."
Over 200 CPS London lawyers are designated as rape specialists. The criteria for becoming a rape specialist is rigorously applied and they receive specifictraining. CPS prosecutors follow the Merit Based Approach to prosecuting rape cases. This means that the prosecutor's decision is based on an objective assessment of the evidence, ignoring stereotypical assumptions about the victim's behaviour, despite the fact that these assumptions may be held by membersof the jury who are ultimately responsible for deciding the outcome of a trial.
Mrs Saunders added: "We have done a lot of work with our prosecutors dispelling these stereotypes internally and our performance in prosecuting these cases is improving. I believe this is partly due to our dedicated rape charging centre and in 2012 we will be launching the London Rape and Serious Sexual Offences(RASSO) unit, which will mean all rape cases being managed by a dedicated team of prosecutors. We are working hard with our partners, particularly theMetropolitan Police Service (MPS),to improve the way in which we deal with these cases. I am determined to ensure that victims are confident in coming forward and reporting these crimes..
