Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps is he taking to help ensure that women who have experienced sexual assault feel able to report it.

The Government recognises that sexual violence is a devastating crime and is committed to ensuring that every victim has access to the specialist support they need. We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice. We expect every report of sexual assault to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

To that end, a review of the criminal justice response to rape and serious sexual offences was commissioned in March 2019 by the National Criminal Justice Board (CJB), and it continues to gather and analyse detailed views from key groups and agencies across the Criminal Justice System to enable us to better understand how the system’s response to sexual assault cases can be improved. The Government intends to publish its initial findings in the autumn.

To provide support to victims, the Ministry of Justice also directly commissions rape support centres across England and Wales and has committed to investing to recruit more Independent Sexual Violence Advisers - who play a critical role in ensuring that victims feel informed, supported and engaged throughout every stage of the criminal justice process. In addition, during the Covid-19 outbreak the Government ringfenced £10 million of funding for sexual violence support services to ensure they could continue to provide vital services.

The Government has also committed to delivering a new communications campaign to raise awareness around sexual violence and inform victims of their rights to support, and this campaign will be launched later this year.