Postcode lottery for rape victims (7/7/08)

The Fawcett Society has obtained figures from the Government which reveal huge deficiencies in police responses to rape in many parts of the UK: 

• In some areas women who report rape are almost five times less likely to achieve a conviction than in others.
• In Leicestershire, less than one in thirty five women who report rape secure a conviction. In Cleveland, one in seven reported rapes are convicted. 
• The conviction rate has got worse in 18 out of 43 police areas since 2004.
• In many areas, conviction rates have dropped dramatically, falling by over 60% in Bedfordshire.

Katherine Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society, commented:

‘These disturbing figures reveal that women face a postcode lottery when reporting rape to the police. It is entirely unacceptable that the standard of service rape victims receive is dependent on where they live.

‘Even more worryingly, in many areas of the country the conviction rate has fallen dramatically since 2004. The Government must act now to ensure that all women who experience this awful crime receive a sensitive and effective service from police.

‘It is a national scandal that thousands of victims have no access to justice, and receive unreliable and ineffectual responses when reporting rape. In many cases women face a culture of disbelief and, even more frequently, delayed responses lead to the loss of vital evidence. Women deserve so much better than this.

‘We are calling on the Home Secretary to end the postcode lottery faced by victims of sexual violence by ensuring that every case of rape is properly investigated.

‘The Government needs to drive cultural change within the criminal justice system, to ensure that rape is given an high priority by every police force in the country and to invest in a national network of rape crisis centres.’ 

Jeff Brooks, Detective Superintendent for Gloucestershire Police, Commented:

‘We are very encouraged to see that Gloucestershire is the area where the greatest improvements have been made in tackling rape. After the Fawcett Society published the 2004 figures, which showed that only 0.8% of rapes reported in Gloucestershire achieved a conviction, we overhauled our strategy on sexual violence. We have begun to turn things around by working to collect better evidence early on in rape cases and supporting victims effectively through the criminal justice process.’