Speeches and Statements
Search for press releasesAlan Campbell's speech: Responding to rape
7 November 2008
Home Office Minister Alan Cambell delivered this speech at Lancashire & Cumbria constabularies joint conference on 7 November 2008.
I am very sorry that I am not able to be with you in person today but I wanted to send a message of support for the important work you are doing. I also want to set out what I believe we need to do in order to improve the investigation of rape, provide professional support to victims, and increase the number of offences that are brought to justice.
I know that in the last few years many of you have been working hard to improve the response to rape and sexual violence and I am pleased to hear that so many organisations, from the police, health and voluntary sectors, are attending today to keep the focus on this important piece of work.
A devastating crime
Rape is one of the most serious and devastating offences. It is considered by the public to rank alongside murder in terms of seriousness because of the violence and violation involved. It is the crime that women fear the most.
The last 10 years has seen an increase in reporting of rape. In many ways this is a good thing, indicating that victims are more confident to come forward. The proportion of cases that go to court that result in a conviction, which stands at 34%, is also the highest it has been for 10 years. This increase in convictions is not, however, keeping pace with the increases in reporting. So whilst we need to recognise achievements, we also need to consider what more needs to be done.
Rape is often thought of as a low volume crime, but 1 in 20 women have experienced it. Only 1 in 6 victims report it to the police, and of those, 7 in 10 cases never make it to court. Overall the conviction rate for all rapes reported to the police is around 6%.
We each have a vital role to play to change this. Improving reporting and conviction rates for rape will not be accomplished by one agency acting alone. We need to ensure that we are clear what a victim needs when he or she reports a rape so that we can provide the right services at the right time. This means providing more support for the voluntary sector, improving the criminal justice process, ensuring that we develop more Sexual Assault Referral Centres and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers and ensuring that the court process is improved. It also means tackling myths and stereotypes that exist amongst the general public.
So we have a challenge on our hands but one which I am looking forward to working with you all on.
The government's role
The Government’s role is to ensure that you have the support that you need to deliver a first-class service to all victims of rape and sexual violence.
Earlier this year the Home Secretary published a 3-year Action Plan for Tackling Violence. Sexual violence was recognised as a priority area. We committed, in that plan, to focus on improving the criminal justice response by driving forward work to improve the investigation and prosecution of rape and focus on areas where performance is poor.
In addition, the Government’s Public Service Agreements for 2008 - 2011 on “Making Communities Safer” and “Justice for All” set out our commitment to prioritise action to tackle the most serious violent, and sexual, offences. We are clear that rape is both a national and a local priority.
As many of you will know, this work is already underway.
A range of actions to improve the investigation and prosecution of rape, and other forms of sexual violence, was set out in the cross-government Action Plan on Sexual Violence and Abuse which was published in April last year.
Progress made
Significant progress has been made since then:
- specialist police officers and specialist rape prosecutors now operate in every area and training and guidance has been updated
- all police forces have received operational support to develop and deliver action plans to improve rape investigation strategies
- a Rape Performance Group has been established to monitor a range of indicators on rape and report to the National Criminal Justice Board.
In addition, the Government has committed to ensuring that all victims should have access to a Sexual Assault Referral Centre and an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor within the next 3 years. These services provide expert victim care at the heart of the Criminal Justice process.
Sexual assault referral centres
The Home Office currently provides start-up funding for new Sexual Assault Referral Centres and support for existing SARCs. We have recently announced funding of 1.6 million pounds for 2008 - 2009 and successful applicants will be announced before the end of the year. A further fund of 1.6 million pounds will be available from April 2009. In addition, this year, for the first time, the Home Office and the Department of Health will be funding a team of experts from the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the forensic science service and a SARC manager to provide support to those areas that wish to develop a SARC but are having problems engaging the right people locally.
I know that you have identified a need to provide further support to victims of rape and sexual assault, through the provision of a Sexual Assault Referral Centre, in the north and west of Cumbria. This will ensure that victims there receive the same excellent standard of care as those in the south, who have access to the SAFE Centre in Preston. Whilst demand is expected to be high, I would encourage you to submit a bid for funding for this project and to take advantage of the expert support available to you.
In addition the Home Office is continuing to fund the ACPO Rape Support Programme that provides support and guidance to forces on how to improve their practice in respect of rape. We are also funding a pilot of a dedicated team approach to rape investigation in Hampshire so that we can learn more about the benefits of this approach.
I also mentioned Independent Sexual Violence Advisers. An evaluation of the role is almost complete and the Home Office will be discussing the results with interested parties before new funding is made available in April.
We are also making available over 1 million pounds to supplement local funding for voluntary organisations supporting victims of sexual violence and have administered an emergency fund to prevent the closures of at-risk rape crisis centres. We are continuing to look at what more we can do to help increase the capacity and sustainability of the sexual violence voluntary sector who do such excellent work to support victims.
Conclusion
Finally then I wanted to say something more victims. I am sure you will all know how much courage it takes for a victim of rape to tell anyone about it. Many victims say that they don’t report the offence because they want to spare themselves further pain and embarrassment. I have mentioned poor conviction rates and my commitment to driving up performance but I recognise that we will not achieve convictions in every case. It is incredibly important to remember that providing a good service to victims can mean that a victim feels supported by the criminal justice system even in the absence of a conviction. The victim experience of the process is just as important as the conviction rate.
The Home Office is looking at whether we can do more to measure how victims feel about the police and the criminal justice system more generally so that good work is recognised.
I hope that you have a successful and productive conference and I look forward to working jointly with you, to improve the service that we offer to victims of rape and sexual violence, and to meeting you all soon.
