Shocking statistics released just last month showed the number of people convicted of rape has slumped to less than 2,000 despite nearly 60,000 complaints being made to police last year (stock image)

Juries should be abolished in rape cases because they are biased against victims, says the lawyer who represented two women attacked by John Worboys.

Harriet Wistrich told Legal Action: 'If you look at the way juries just do not convict young men, they bring their own prejudices and views in too much.

'You could look at other options, possibly something akin to a discrimination panel, with a judge plus two specialist panel members who look at the facts and context and decide a case.'

It comes after shocking statistics released just last month showed the number of people convicted of rape has slumped to less than 2,000 despite nearly 60,000 complaints being made to police last year.

Bob Neil, Conservative chairman of the commons justice committee, and a barrister told The Times that abandoning juries in rape trials was 'profoundly misguided and a dangerous idea.'

And Caroline Goodwin, QC, who chairs the criminal bar association said jurors bring 'a collective wisdom and objectivity to trials, being socially responsible.

'The answer is not simply to abandon juries but to invest in education to ensure that as a society we are better placed to face these challenges.'

Statistics released last month showed just 3.3 per cent of all rape claims made to authorities lead to a conviction, meaning only one in thirty complainants see the person they accuse punished.

The shocking figures have led campaigners to claim that rape is being 'effectively decriminalised' in Britain.

The percentage of reports which lead to a conviction in rape cases is much lower than many other types of crime.

The appalling statistics for rape offences were revealed in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) report from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

It shows there were just 1,925 convictions for rape or an alternative lesser offence in 2018-19, down from the 2,635 figure for the previous 12 months.

This is despite the number of rape claims dealt with annually by police in England and Wales rising from 35,847 to 57,882 during the last four years.

It means around 3.3% of all reported rapes end in a conviction.