Number of rape cases that are charged or summonsed has fallen from 14 per cent to 1.5 per cent, data reveals ‘There is no meaningful access to justice for women, and the men who commit this crime are getting away with it’, said EVAW

Just 1.5 per cent of all rape cases reported to the police result in suspects being charged or summonsed with the offence.

Home Office statistics, analysed by The Guardian, continue to reflect a concerning decline in prosecutions for rape across England and Wales over recent years.

The data comes amid heightened calls for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to be reviewed following allegations it had quietly changed its prosecuting policies on sexual assault cases to ensure only the most clear cut cases ended up in court.

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The numbers are particularly stark compared to figures four years ago, when 14 per cent of all cases lead to a suspect being charged or summonsed.

That’s a change from one in seven reports resulting in charging or summonses in 2015/16 to just one in 64 reports in 2018-19.

‘Deeply troubling’

Alongside this, recent Ministry of Justice figures indicate the few victims of sexual assault to make it to crown court are also being forced to wait longer for trial dates, with many left for seven months.

Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon told justice minister Paul Maynard that he found the figures “deeply troubling”.

“This will only add to concerns that the chaos the Conservatives have created in our courts and wider justice system is letting down victims of the most serious crimes,” he said.

In a written response, Mr Maynard said: “The overall median waiting time in crown courts for defendants in sexual offence cases tends to be higher than that for other offences due to a lower guilty plea rate for these cases.

“Demand [for court use] has been falling in recent years and sitting days have been reduced accordingly. Waiting times for trials in the crown court for 2018 have been the lowest since 2014, despite the challenge of increasingly complex cases.”

‘Rape has effectively been decriminalised’

Meanwhile, more victims than ever before are reporting attacks to the police.

The number of rape claims handled annually by police in England and Wales has risen by 61 per cent between 2015 and 2019, 35,847 to 57,882.

“The figures show that overall, of every 200 cases of rape reported to the police, only three will actually be prosecuted and go to trial,” Rebecca Hitchen, campaigns manager at the End Violence Against Women coalition said.

“If nothing changes we could argue that rape has effectively been decriminalised. There is no meaningful access to justice for women, and the men who commit this crime are getting away with it.”

A Home Office spokesperson said of the declining prosecutions: “We welcome the fact that more victims are having greater confidence to come forward and report these horrendous crimes. However, we are concerned by reductions in charges and prosecutions for crimes such as rape and serious sexual offences.”