Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape victims who do not report crimes because of (a) poor handling and (b) breaches of anonymity in previous cases; and what steps he is taking to improve that situation for victims.

The Office for National Statistics publishes statistics on prevalence of rape and reporting in the Crime Survey of England and Wales, accessible here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/natureofsexualassaultbyrapeorpenetrationenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2020.

This publication includes statistics on the prevalence of rape experienced by victims since the age of 16, the proportion of these victims who reported to the police and the proportion of victims who told someone else about the abuse, either someone they knew personally, or someone from another professional, support or official organisation. The publication also includes reasons why some victims did not tell anyone, or why some victims did not tell the police. We do not collect data on non-reporting due to breaches of anonymity in previous cases.

As part of the cross-Government Rape Review, a series of actions will be implemented that will improve the way the system handles rape cases, conscious that the Government does not have control over jury convictions. The joint national action plan (JNAP)will deliver actions designed to improve the handling of cases and interactions with victims.

We are rolling out Operation Soteria: a joint police and Crown Prosecution Service programme of work to transform the way that they work individually and together to investigate and prosecute rape. This will turn the focus onto the perpetrator rather than the victim’s behaviour. We are additionally introducing a single source of 24/7 support for victims of rape and sexual violence, and have increased funding this year to £150.5m for victim support services. In July last year, the government launched our Violence against Women and Girls Strategy , with a dedicated policing lead reporting directly to the Home Secretary, and have recently consulted on a Victim’s Bill.