Yesterday, local MP, Dame Caroline Dinenage, asked the Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, Victoria Atkins MP, to ensure victims of rape have the confidence in system to deliver swift and decisive justice.
Victoria Atkins is the Minister responsible for Rape and Serious Sexual Offences as well as violence against women, and was answering an Urgent Question in the Chamber on the rise in the incidence of rape not taken forward for criminal prosecution.
Last year in the end to end Rape Review, the Government committed to more than doubling the number of adult rape cases reaching court by the end of this Parliament. Rape convictions are continuing to increase, there has been a 67% increase since 2020, as well as the time it takes to for cases to be completed to charge, down five weeks since the peak in June last year.
The Government has also now quadrupled the funding for victim support since Labour to £192m by 2024/25, as well as increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors to more than 1,000 by 2024/25.
As former Women and Equalities Minister and current member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, Caroline has always called for further support for women.
Caroline asked the Minister:
“I have absolutely no doubt of my Honourable Friend’s absolute commitment and dedication to this cause and I am very grateful for that. A lot of the figures she quotes are very encouraging, but the fact is ….we have got a long way to go….key to this is confidence in the system, confidence for the victims to come forward in the first place and confidence to stay the course throughout the process which can be fairly punitive….. What more is she doing ….. to drive this confidence amongst victims?”
The Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, Victoria Atkins responded saying:
“I am extremely grateful to my Rt Hon Friend. I think there are many ways in which we can support victims and one of them is through specialist support of working with women and victims of sexual violence. Another thing that we are in the process of setting up and I am extremely grateful to Rape Crisis for their help on this, is that we are setting up a 24/7 support line for victims of sexual violence. We are testing it carefully over the next couple of months to make sure that we understand when peaks and flows will necessitate proper staffing. But we are absolutely committed to providing these services so that victims can get that help they need when they need it.”
Commenting after, Caroline said:
“I am pleased that the Minister has announced the Department is trialling a 24/7 support line for victims of sexual violence. This will be absolutely vital for those who need support and I look forward to seeing how this will help victims across the country.”
