The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Stop shaming by naming?
Veteran singer Sir Cliff Richard has called for automatic anonymity for people accused of sex crimes. So should the law be changed? Michael Alexander looks at the arguments.
Sir Cliff Richard has told MPs and peers he will be “forever tainted” after being wrongly accused of historic child sex crimes. Sir Cliff, 76, who always denied the allegations and was never charged, is suing the BBC and South Yorkshire Police after a raid on his house was broadcast live on television in 2014.
The singer is also backing a campaign to change the law so sex crime suspects do not have their names released unless they are charged.
Under the law, complainants in alleged sexual assaults are guaranteed lifelong anonymity – but no such assurance is available for the accused.
Sir Cliff was the subject of a 22-month South Yorkshire Police investigation, centred on accusations dating from between 1958 and 1983 made by four men.
Earlier this year, prosecutors said no charges would be brought and a review later confirmed the decision. However, Sir Cliff said the damage to his reputation had already been done
“Had I not been named I would still have been able to look people in the eye and not feel afraid that they might be thinking that there is no smoke without fire”, Sir Cliff told the parliamentarians. Tainted “Instead, I fear I will forever be tainted by the lurid and intrusive coverage I received.”
So should the law be changed to protect the identity of the accused, or would this be a retrograde step for victims of sexual crime?
Michael Boyd, 43, of Boyds Law (Solicitors and Estate Agents) in Forfar, has been a lawyer for 13 years and has represented several people accused of sexual offences during that time.
He agrees with Sir Cliff that a suspect should not be named publicly during the early stages of an investigation.
However, if they are charged and the suspect appears in court, he feels it is “more acceptable” for the accused’s name to go public.
“One of the reasons the law might have to be looked at is because of the role of modern media,” he said.
“What use is anonymity if you can go on social media and find the name?”
Former Met Police deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick, who stood for the London mayor elections for the Liberal Democrats, is leading proposals for a shift in the law and believes changes could be in place as soon as the end of the year.
He said: “Particularly in the wake of the Jimmy Savile revelations, most people are very well aware of the impact historical child abuse has had on the survivors of such offences.
“No matter who they are – whether they are a local school teacher whose arrest makes it into the local newspaper, or whether it’s somebody like Cliff Richard, clearly it can have a devastating effect both on the individual’s reputation and potentially on their careers.” Retrograde step However, campaigners for abuse victims maintain that naming suspects encourages others to come forward.
A spokesperson for Rape Crisis Scotland said: “Anonymity for those accused of serious crimes would be a retrograde step in the context of sexual offences.
“There have been many cases where identification and conviction of a perpetrator would not have been possible if women had not been made aware of his identity.”
The organisation, which provides support for victims of sexual abuse, says knowing who their attacker was and that they were not alone in having suffered can enhance victims’ chances of receiving justice.
“Rapists rely on the terror, shame and trauma that so often keeps women silent and in some cases, assault one woman after another many times before there is any prospect of discovery,” the spokesperson added.
“Police are clear that it is key to their intelligence that the identity of the accused be made known in order that information from a range of complainers can be linked.
“Introducing anonymity for the accused in rape cases would have a significant impact on the ability of the justice system to protect the public from predatory men.
“There is no evidence that false allegations in rape cases are higher than for any other crime.”
A spokesperson for Victim Support Scotland added: “We understand the issues people have in relation to publicising the names of those accused of sexual crimes.
“But the reality is that publicising names can sometimes enable other victims to feel confident about coming forward.”
Introducing anonymity for the accused in rape cases would have a significant impact on the ability of the justice system to protect the public
This issue has been in front of the Scottish Parliament before.
In 2001 the-then Scottish Justice Minister Jim Wallace rejected calls from the UK Men’s Movement for anonymity to be given to men accused of rape.
It was concluded there was no evidence of a widespread practice of false accusation and again, there were concerns that victims might not come forward if the law was changed.