Sex assault victims withdraw from cases due to distress caused by court delays

Some victims of sexual assault have dropped their cases and others are considering withdrawing from the justice system due to delays, according to a new report.

It notes that some cases have taken almost two years to come to trial, with the delays described as “major causes of distress” for those involved.

Rape Crisis Scotland said six sexual offence complainers it is supporting have withdrawn due to delays, while 43 complainers being assisted by the Rape Crisis National Advocacy Project have considered withdrawing from the criminal justice process because of the impact of delays.

The report, for the Scottish Government’s Victims Taskforce, also found that many victims report feeling unsafe due to concerns regarding bail and breaches of bail throughout the pandemic.

Victims of domestic abuse with children report being “put at risk as a result of bail conditions that are granted”.

Meanwhile feedback from both victim and survivor support organisations (VSOs) and their users said non-harassment orders in relation to domestic abuse are often either not granted for long enough, or requested but not granted.

The report was based on feedback from victims and survivors themselves and workers at support organisations about their experiences during the pandemic.

Organisations including Assist, Children 1st, Rape Crisis Scotland, Scottish Women’s Aid and Victim Support Scotland contributed to the report.

MSPs were told in December that it could take up to five years for the backlog in Scotland’s courts caused by the pandemic to be cleared.

Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “Significant delays in cases getting to court are causing huge distress and uncertainty for rape complainers.

“Victims tell us that they feel that they can’t move on with their lives, and they are endlessly having to go through in their minds what happened to try to prepare for a court date that never comes.

“If the Government don’t act, our worry is that more and more rape survivors will withdraw from the process, as they simply can’t bear it any longer.”

The report also said delays are having a negative impact on some complainers.

“For some victims and survivors, their experiences of the justice system itself is leading them to withdraw from the justice system as a whole,” it said.

“Many organisations including Rape Crisis Scotland and Victim Support Scotland are seeing more cases of complainer and witness attrition and all VSOs involved in this report are deeply concerned about this and the resulting lack of confidence in the justice system and future reporting.”

Rape Crisis Scotland said 12 survivors it is supporting took the decision not to report because of the delays.

One Scottish Women’s Aid worker highlighted cases that have been ongoing for almost two years from time of incident to trial and begged for them to be “prioritised to avoid further distress to complainers”.

Many VSOs who work with children, for example Assist and Children 1st, said they have noticed an additional delay in the length of time for cases being concluded, and noted the young people accessing their services have had their cases pushed back repeatedly.

It said delays can represent a significant portion of a child’s life so have an “even worse impact on them”.