Rape soars to record levels as reports rise by quarter
RAPE offences increased by more than a quarter last year to reach their highest ever recorded level, according to official statistics.
Last year 70,330 were rapes reported to police in England and Wales, up from 55,678 in 2021.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests rape offences have almost doubled in six years.
Other sex offences also rose by almost a third in the 12 months to March, with police forces now handling nearly 200,000 reports annually – the highest figure on record.
Meanwhile, data from the Crown Prosecution Service revealed a 69 per cent jump in rape prosecutions from 1,557 to 2,537 in the past 12 months.
But critics said the proportion of victims who actually get justice remains “woefully low” with the number of convictions falling by 2.4 per cent.
ONS analysts said part of the reason for the rise in rape offences might be down to more victims coming forward.
But they acknowledged there was also a potential increase in the number of actual crimes taking place.
Jayne Butler, the head of Rape Crisis England and Wales, said there was a gap between the official statistics and the real picture because the vast majority of victims never reported their ordeals to police.
She said: “This gap exists for a number of reasons, including the huge number of rape myths that are still widely believed in society, as well as victims and survivors fearing that they won’t be believed or taken seriously, and knowing that they are highly unlikely to ever see someone charged – let alone convicted or imprisoned.
“Not only do prosecution levels remain woefully low, there are also long delays in cases reaching court and insufficient funding for specialist, trauma-informed support services for victims and survivors.”
Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition said the slight rise in the number of prosecutions did not make up for wider failings.
She said: “Marginal, creeping progress is not enough to fix our broken justice system.”