Manual for fixing legal system is written — we just need to act on it

THE recently disclosed sexual offences “legislative error” will come as devastating news for the victims and survivors of these crimes.

It will be a personal tragedy for the victims and survivors with effects rippling out across friends, families and wider communities.

The potential for re-traumatisation is all too real and so it’s right and proper that the Public Prosecution Service has moved to put support in place through Victim Support NI and Nexus.

The reality is that this “legislative error” hasn’t emerged from a blue sky.

The criminal justice system is beset with problems when it comes to dealing with sexual offences. The figures don’t lie in this regard. On average, victims of sexual crime wait 698 days before the case comes before the court. That’s an average wait of around two years.

Less than a quarter of cases even make it to court with the prosecution rate for sexual offences falling from 31.2% to 23.9% in the space of four years.

And of the cases that are heard before the courts, just over half result in a conviction.

Of the 356 prosecutions in 2018, just 194 (54.5%) led to the accused being convicted.

Frighteningly, studies show that 60% of all sexual crimes go unreported. Given the extremely personal and traumatic nature of sexual violence, victims are often reluctant to let anyone know that this has happened to them, let alone report to the police. Clearly, the system is letting down the very victims of sexual offences that require justice. With this in mind, let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture.

This legislative error is deeply concerning but this system is in need of urgent overhaul.

The manual for fixing the broken system has already been written. The Gillen Review of 2018 produced 253 recommendations on how we can improve outcomes for victims of sexual offences.

The Justice Department has produced a Gillen implementation plan. The need for full implementation of Gillen is clear but it must happen at a quicker pace, society wide.

Otherwise, we will continue to let victims down and destroy lives in the process.