Judges ‘to be advised to bar public when rape victims give evidence’

JUDGES will be advised to bar the public from courts when rape victims give evidence, it has been reported.

The move would see public galleries in courtrooms cleared in an effort to reduce the trauma which victims face when they give evidence.

The Sunday Telegraph reported yesterday that the recommendations have come following an inquiry into sexual offence trials by Lord Justice Sir John Gillen which will form part of a crossGovernment review of rape that is expected to be published this spring.

The shake-up aims to reverse the slump in rape prosecutions where half of victims drop out in the face of invasive disclosure demands.

Figures released by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) last summer found just 1,439 alleged rapists were convicted of rape or lesser offences in 2019-20 – down 25 per cent from 1,925 the previous year.

The number of completed prosecutions also reached a record low, with 2,102 in 2019-20, compared with 3,034 in 2018-19, a fall of about 31 per cent.

The figures drew fresh claims that serious sexual offences were effectively being decriminalised.

The Sunday Telegraph said curbs aimed at stopping police trawling previous sexual relationships will also be recommended, as well as the wider use of prerecorded statements by victims so they do not have to appear in court. A public education campaign to combat rape myths is also being considered, it added.