Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of all unsuccessful outcomes in rape cases have been because of victim issues in each of the last seven financial years.

The table below shows the proportion of unsuccessful prosecutions in rape cases due to victim issues in each of the last seven years.

The recording of the reasons for unsuccessful outcomes was changed in April 2013 leading to enhanced recording of victim issues. It is hoped that this may more accurately reflect the rape victim issues the CPS is addressing through the National Rape Action Plan published in June 2014. The Plan includes a specific action to conduct research into the reasons behind victim withdrawals to help identify steps to encourage victims to engage with the court process.

Previously victim reasons may have been recorded as ‘essential legal element missing' or ‘unreliable witnesses'. Following a change to clarify the definitions in 2013-14, the CPS has seen a fall in these reasons (from 4% to 1.5% and 8.1% to 1.3% respectively). In parallel there has been a rise in recording of unsuccessful outcomes due to victim issues, with the figure rising from 12.5% to 18% of all unsuccessful outcomes, of which 10.8% was due to victim retraction.

Data Source: CPS Management Information System