Rape testimony

Victims of alleged rapes will be allowed to testify on camera, before the trial begins, to avoid having to be cross-examined in front of the person they accuse of assaulting them. The footage will then be played back to the jury. Justice Secretary Liz Truss said that the new rules would reduce “the level of trauma for the victim”. The measures had already been announced for child victims of sexual offences, following a pilot scheme which found that defendants were more likely to enter a guilty plea when they were confronted, before the trial, with the strength of the evidence against them.