Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a whole-system criminal justice strategy for rape and sexual abuse.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to a high standard, whole system approach to cases of rape and sexual abuse. This is supported by the expertise of our Independent Advisor on the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence.

We will soon be publishing our cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy. This will set out strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, including across the criminal justice system. This strategy will work in tandem with the recently published Crown Prosecution Service VAWG strategy, which sets out how they will work with partners to ensure a consistent, best practice response to VAWG.