Former Ministry of Justice Rape Adviser Emily Hunt claims there is a “lack of will” to improve the criminal justice system for sexual violence victims. This blog explores the current system and askes what the police and Crown Prosecution Service are doing to address serious concerns.
In October 2022, just two years after being appointed, Emily Hunt announced her decision to step down from her position as an Independent Adviser on the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) Rape Review Action Plan. Hunt, who was awarded an OBE for her services, claimed she had “lost faith” in the system.
It comes after her own pursuit of justice dating back to 2015 when she woke up in a London hotel room alongside a man she believed had raped her. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) did not bring charges claiming a lack of evidence. But a year later she discovered she had been filmed naked while the man performed a sex act beside her. Haunted by her experience, she launched a five-year-long fight which led to the man being charged with Voyeurism and handed a Restraining Order. When this was breached, he was given a suspended sentence which Hunt described at the time as “laughable”.
Hunt went on to contribute to the 2021 Rape Review Action Plan which was commissioned two years earlier. A collaboration between the CPS and police, the initiative sought to address falling levels of rape case referrals and was described as “an important step” in improving responses to rape cases and victims with the aim to double the number of adult rape cases reaching court. A progress report published in July 2023 confirmed the action plan was being extended to December 2024 stating “while the vast majority of actions have been completed, there is much work still to do to ensure the actions are having the impact they need to”.
A core part of the plan is Operation Soteria Bluestone led by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) which has brought together policy makers, academics and police in a research and change programme which included moving the focus from victims to suspects during rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) investigations. This operating model was rolled out across all 43 police forces in England and Wales in July 2023.
Other changes have included the introduction of a 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse support line enabling victims to speak to trained specialists, a commitment to quadrupling funding for victim support services by the end of 2025 (compared to 2010 levels) and important changes to digital disclosure which means no adult victim should be without a phone, seized for investigation purposes, for more than 24 hours by the end of the review.
So why did Hunt quit? She raised two key issues, one being a lack of interest in victims who she felt were still not at the heart of investigations. The second being rape myths that have not been broken. For victims she said, “there is no statutory compassionate leave, jurors seem to get more help getting to court than victims do”. More worryingly, she claimed operational partners “are all just people” and “people innately believe in rape myths”. Hunt said she came across these attitudes more frequently “within the civil service side of things”, than any other room she had been in.
Compassionate leave is an interesting point raised by Hunt. Jurors are entitled to claim for food and drink, the cost of travelling to and from court and a contribution for loss of earning and childcare if their employer does not pay them during jury service. There is, however, no legal entitlement to compassionate leave for victims of crime nor no legal right for them to be paid even if they are granted leave by their employers to attend police interviews or give evidence in court. Low-paid workers can apply for assistance from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) hardship fund and violent crime victims can claim compensation. However, the employment rights of rape and serious sexual assault victims, remain employer-dependent and, while there is welcome work ongoing to review workplace support for domestic violence victims, the rights of crime victims remains patchy and is worthy of further investigation. It is not addressed in the review.
So, what are the police and the CPS doing?
The Rape Review Action plan has seen both key services:-
Focus investigations on suspect behaviour and not on the credibility of victims.
Introduce increased scrutiny of CPS and police decision-making with Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) ensuring the needs of victims and survivors are met and now recognised in law as part of the Victims and Prisoners Bill.
This new commitment primarily comes from Operation Soteria Bluestone, of which Hunt was a vocal supporter, and the Rape Review Action plan of which it forms a part.
There are some positive signs with the Rape Review Action Plan progress report stating police referrals to the CPS are now up 134% on quarterly averages in 2019 when the report was commissioned while charges are 93% up on the same period. Positive steps are being taken by all agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of rape and serious sexual offences and they seem to be delivering some positive results. But adequate funding and the full backing of all associated agencies is needed to see this project succeed and data shows progress is painfully slow meaning it is far too soon to ignore Hunt’s warnings.
By Eva Maria Breslin, Law Student