Rape laws to be rewritten

Every rape victim should be offered the support of a specialist adviser, a landmark review has recommended. [15 March 2010]

The research found that although measures relating to reports, investigations and prosecutions in rape cases have improved, the actual implementation has not been uniform across England and Wales. Other new recommendations state that victims should be immediately transferred from the to the NHS for forensic medical examinations. Furthermore, it says that all police forces should have at least one sexual assault referral centre.

Rape statistics

The review also finds that the misuse of statistics discourages victims from reporting sex crimes and says that figures describing that six out of 100 rape cases end in a successful conviction are misleading. The report states the true figure to be 58%.

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