Speeches and Statements

Home Office launches new booklet ‘Coping with Sexual Assault: a Guide for Young People.'

Speech by Vernon Coaker, Home Office Under Secretary of State, on 14 May 2008. The text below is as prepared.

Introduction

I want to begin by thanking the Havens for inviting me to speak today. I’m very proud of the Home Office’s involvement with this booklet.  It provides really important information to young people who have experienced rape or sexual assault at what can be an incredibly traumatic and confusing time. I’m pleased to see that young people themselves were given the opportunity to comment on the booklet; no doubt that is why it reads so well!

Rape and sexual assault are amongst the most serious offences. They constitute a horrific violation of basic human rights, create fear in communities and have a devastating effect on victims’, and their families’, lives.

Individuals who are victims of these crimes deserve to be supported, treated with dignity and respect, and to see their offenders brought to justice.

The Government is absolutely committed to tackling all forms of sexual violence.

Before I say what the Government is doing nationally on this issue I’d like to say a little bit about why I think this booklet is important.

 

The Booklet

As the booklet makes clear there are so many myths surrounding rape and sexual assault. Firstly it is considered to be very rare. Whilst fortunately most people will never experience rape or sexual assault, sadly it is more common than people think. Secondly, many people do not realise that young people make up the largest group of people that experience rape and sexual assaults. School children and students are the occupations most likely to be assaulted. A Home Office research paper published last year showed that 16 is the most common age for a woman to be assaulted and this is reflected in what is seen on the streets; the Havens tell me that across their three London centres, young people make up 25% of their service users.
 
This is horrendous but not surprising; we know that rapists and sex offenders target the most vulnerable members of society and young people can be particularly vulnerable. They can sometimes trust too easily and can be subject to peer pressure to engage in activity that puts them at risk of sexual assault and rape such as drinking or drug taking. In addition, they may fear coming forward to report an offence because they do not understand how the authorities will react or they worry about getting into trouble with their parents.

This must change. Rape and sexual assault can have long term consequences for any victim but experiencing this so young can be particularly devastating. Emotionally, young people often experience feelings of worthlessness, blame or feel damaged and fear getting close to others in the future. It can cause life-long damage to their relationships, friendships or affect their studies. Physically, young people are at risk of unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections and it is incredibly important that we ensure we get the message out that help is available and that they will be believed and supported by the authorities.

That is why this booklet is so important; it ensures that young people who have experienced sexual assault or rape know where they can turn to for help, that what they are thinking or feeling is perfectly normal and that whatever the circumstances of their assault; they are not to blame. It also provides practical advice to help young people get through the first few days or months following an assault and provides advice on issues such as the law which can be confusing.

My main interest, as a Minister responsible for the criminal justice system, is to improve conviction rates for offences such as these. One of the key ways we will do this is by supporting victims and this booklet is one important way of doing so.

Before I finish I would just like briefly to mention what else we are doing to support victims and tackle sexual violence more generally.  Many of you will know that an Action Plan on sexual violence and abuse was published last year.

It set out our three priorities:

• prevention of sexual violence and abuse;
• increasing access to support services for victims; and
• improving the criminal justice response so that victims can feel confident to come forward and see a case through to conviction.

We have made a huge amount of progress in the last year:

• We have introduced specially trained officers and specialist rape prosecutors in every area and improved training and guidance for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service;
 
• We’ve also introduced sexual offences training for all barristers prosecuting in serious sexual offence cases;

• And we have supported police forces to develop rape action plans;

• We have established a ‘Rape Performance Group’ to improve local performance of the police and CPS on the investigation and prosecution of rape;

• We’ve extended the network of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (there are now 19 with a further 17 in development);

• And we have piloted Independent Sexual Violence Advisors in 38 areas to provide advocacy and support for victims; and

• provided funding for voluntary organisations supporting victims of sexual violence.

It is easy to see how the booklet we are launching today helps to support victims. But it also meets our other two aims; by supporting victims and making young people aware of the myths and stereotypes surrounding rape and sexual assault, we increase the likelihood that they will have the confidence to come forward and report to the police. But we also help to prevent assaults in the first place.

The actions I have outlined are only some of those we are taking to tackle sexual violence. We know we have more to do but I must say that this issue has a prominence that it has never had before in Government and we are committed to driving this work forward. An updated action plan with new priorities for the coming year will be available this summer.

Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone involved in this publication, particularly to Nikki and Parminder who have worked so hard getting it ready. I am confident it will be a very helpful resource.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.