Rape convictions soar after change in law

Of 13 cases brought by the Crown Office under the new legislation in the past year, eight resulted in guilty pleas or verdicts.

That equals a success rate of 62 per cent for prosecutors – compared with 46 per cent under previous powers – although it is a small sample.

However, rape campaigners have warned that still more needs to be done as many victims do not see their alleged attacker even reach court.

Sandy Brindley, national co-ordinator at Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “These are very, very encouraging figures.

“Hopefully, it does show that changes being put in place are making a difference.

“However, we do have to bear in mind that these only represent those that actually got to court; we need to look at why so many don’t even get that far.

“We can’t lose sight of the fact that so many women still don’t see their cases getting to court, and that can be devastating.”

Scotland was previously accused of having the lowest rape conviction rate in Europe, although the Crown Office disputed the way the figures were collated. For example, someone accused of multiple rapes and then successfully prosecuted was counted only as one conviction in the Scottish Government’s figures.

The Crown Office also believed that Scotland had one of the narrowest definitions of rape in Europe, making it difficult to prosecute. That changed with the introduction of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act last December, which widened the definition of rape to include offences against men and other forced sexual acts.

Sexual intercourse with a child under 13, who is legally too young to consent, is also now automatically recorded as rape.

Under the new laws, the number of rapes reported to Scottish police has reached the highest level in a decade, with 997 in 2010-11, but the percentage of cases where enough evidence is gathered to prosecute has hit a ten-year low, at just 55 per cent.

Despite this, the latest Crown Office figures provide reason for optimism. The Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland, said: “The new sexual offences act brought about significant changes in the prosecution of sexual crime in Scotland. Previously, Scotland had one of the narrowest definitions of rape in the world.

“The act has broadened this substantially, making it no longer a gender-specific crime and providing a statutory definition of consent. The first internal statistics kept by NSCU under this new act are encouraging to date.

“Victims – and the public at large – should be confident that we have the skills and expertise to deal with this challenging and demanding area of work.”

Police believe the new laws have brought greater clarity and have made it easier for the criminal justice system to bring about prosecutions.

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland said: “Sexual crime has a long-term devastating affect – both physical and psychological – and the police in Scotland are committed to investigating and arresting those responsible. The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act does not affect how we investigate crimes, but does afford greater clarity around what constitutes an offence and how those crimes are recorded and subsequently dealt with through the criminal justice process.

“This area of policing is a key strategic objective for the Scottish police service and all sexual crime will continue to be fully investigated as a matter of priority.”

• In numbers

62% of rape cases that were taken to court under the new act have resulted in conviction.

46% was the rape conviction rate in 2009-10.

69% of all sexual offences that were taken to court under the new act resulted in conviction.

997 rapes were reported to police in 2010-11.

55% of rapes in 2010-11 saw enough evidence gathered to launch a prosecution– what is known as the clear-up rate.

10 years have passed since the number of rapes was so high, or the clear-up rate so low.