Exclusive:Rape survivors condemn 'shoddy' transcript SNP Government pilot scheme

Three women who were raped by a controlling domestic abuser have criticised a “shoddy” and “insensitive” pilot scheme rolled out by the Scottish Government that left them waiting a year for a transcript of their court cases.

In what was hailed as the first initiative of its kind in the UK, Scottish ministers introduced the scheme in March last year, promising victims in High Court rape and serious assault cases access to transcripts free of charge.

At the time, Justice Secretary Angela Constance said it represented a crucial step in supporting victims and delivering a “trauma-informed justice system”, adding: “Being able to obtain transcripts, where victims can go over exactly what was said in court in their own time, can help their recovery.”

But The Scotsman can reveal the scheme’s problems have served to compound the trauma and frustration victims have endured in the criminal justice system, sparking calls for an independent external evaluation of how it is operating.

The pilot scheme was hailed by the Scottish Government as a way of helping victims of rape and serious sexual assault with their recovery. Picture: PA | PA

The three women, who were among the first applicants to the pilot, said they were left exasperated by a lack of pro-active communication or meaningful updates, and expressed concern over the impact of the delays on other women whose cases concluded in not-guilty verdicts.

Ms Constance said she was “sorry” to hear of the “negative experiences.” She said the Government was working with the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), which operates the scheme, to “address the issues that have been raised in a minority of cases”.

‘It’s incredibly frustrating’

All three women who spoke to The Scotsman were raped by Aaron Carson Swan, two of them on the same night. Swan was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh in November 2023 of four counts of rape, one of sexual assault and one of abusive behaviour between 2013 and 2020.

The 39 year-old was sentenced to six years in prison in May last year at the High Court in Inverness, where the judge, Lord Weir, condemned the “violent, manipulative, self-centred and sinister behaviour” he had shown in domestic and family relationships. Swan was given an Order for Lifelong Restriction, meaning he will be subject to risk management for the rest of his life, and placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

One of his victims, who The Scotsman has named Becky, applied for her court transcript soon after the pilot was introduced, but only received it on Tuesday. She said the year-long wait was especially difficult given her desire to understand the evidence that led the jury to return a not-proven verdict on one rape charge.

“All of the updates I had were pretty vague, and there was no real information given at all,” she said. “The first time I contacted them for an update, after about three months, they said they couldn’t give an update, and I was told in November it was with the data protection team and I’d get an update shortly. Then I was told it was with a quality assurance team, and it’d be with me shortly. I asked them to elaborate on what they meant by ‘shortly’, but they couldn’t.

Aaron Carson Swan was sentenced to six years in prison last May, and given an Order for Lifelong Restriction. Picture: Police Scotland | Police Scotland

“It seemed like this pilot scheme was going to be amazing for me and people who have been through things like this, but it’s been a year of waiting. It’s incredibly frustrating when you want to see what was said and how everything in the case came together.”

Becky, who said it felt like she was being “fobbed off”, also criticised the “very impersonal” way she received the transcript via email. She said: “In my case, I’m very fortunate the trial ended in a guilty verdict, but for women who got a not-guilty verdict, if they’re getting the same treatment that we’ve had, it’ll be so much more damaging.”

‘You’re just treated like a number’

Another woman raped by Swan, whom we have named Hannah, also applied for a transcript in March last year. She too had to wait 12 months only to find a message in her junk email folder, an experience she described as “shoddy” and “triggering”.

She said: “I don’t think you can ever receive any closure with something like this. The assaults were traumatic and the court case was completely traumatic, and although this scheme is meant to help in a small way, it’s such a shoddy set up. There’s no real communication and if you ask for clarification on how long you have to wait, there’s nothing.

“It all feels so insensitive when you think that the women applying for transcripts are victims of sexual assault. But you’re just treated like a number and told that it’ll be soon, but how long is soon?”

Hannah added: “Even the way I received an email in my junk folder was really strange and insensitive. I thought I would get a phone call. I don’t think there was any understanding of what I’ve been through or what other women have gone through.

“There’s no thought about how this can affect you … the experience was rubbish. It makes you wonder that if the pilot scheme didn’t exist, and we had to pay for the transcript, whether the experience would have been different.”

Pilot extended to 2026 despite problems

When the pilot scheme was launched, Ms Constance said the Government had heard from victims how the court process could be “very traumatic”, making it difficult to take in what was said in court. The initiative was viewed as a solution to that and, crucially, the cost barrier that prevented many victims from seeking transcripts as aids to their recovery.

While the SCTS records solemn criminal proceedings using digital audio recording systems, the task of transcription falls to Epiq Global, a global legal services firm contracted by the SCTS, with SCTS staff then deciding whether text needs to be redacted to comply with data protection principles. Ordinarily, requests for a transcript cost £96.60 per hour, with the overall bill for serious cases around £3,000 to £4,000.

Justice secretary Angela Constane promised the pilot scheme would help victims of rape and serious sexual assault in their recovery. Picture: Lisa Ferguson | Lisa Ferguson

The pilot, rolled out following what the Scottish Government described as “detailed scoping work” with the SCTS and Rape Crisis Scotland, had an initial budget of £100,000, with a further £50,000 allocated last summer in light of the “initial high level of demand” and the cost of redacting information.

As of February, some 87 applications had been received, of which seven were not eligible, with one applicant cancelling their request. That month, Ms Constance announced the pilot was being extended until March 2026 to “help inform a definitive view on next steps”. She advised Holyrood’s criminal justice committee that her officials and the SCTS had identified “several operational considerations” requiring further development and evaluation. They include the potential use of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to support the transcription process.

The SCTS website advises the transcription of proceedings “usually takes 15 working days”, but none of the women interviewed by The Scotsman received even indicative timescales. It remains unclear if the Government and SCTS made any changes for the scheme’s second year, but if the experience of those victims who have applied is any indication, the need for wide-ranging improvements is pressing.

‘The transcript validated how emotionally draining it all was’

A third woman subjected to Swan’s campaign of abuse, whom we have named Olivia, requested her transcript on the day the pilot went live, and received it this February. She said she had to constantly ask about the progress of her application, only to receive the same vague answers as Becky and Hannah.

“It would have been helpful to have been given some kind of timeframe, even if it was just a ballpark indication, or advice that the transcript would take longer to prepare because of the length of the trial,” she said.

When Olivia received the transcript, she too was less than impressed about being notified via email. “I got the message letting me know it was ready when I was at work on a training day,” she said. “I was on my lunch break at the time and I’d been waiting so long, I couldn’t leave it, so there I was, reading through it, in probably the worst place. If I’d had a warning the week before that it’d be coming, I’d have taken time off and prepared.”

Despite the frustrations, Olivia said being able to revisit what was said in court has helped her to reaffirm her feelings about the experience of being a complainer in a rape trial. “When you’re at the trial, your mind is mashed at the end of a day giving evidence, it’s hard to remember what happened, or the questions you were asked, and I also didn’t get to see the questions [Swan] was asked and what his defence was,” she said.

“Having the transcript helped provide clarity and confirmed how some of the questions I was asked by his defence lawyer were aggravating. It was tough, and I wondered if I imagined it was harder than it actually was, but the transcript validated how emotionally draining it all was and how it made me feel afterwards. It was such a whirlwind, and although it made me very angry, it was helpful to see those questions again.”

‘Poorly thought through’

Others whose lives were impacted by Swan have expressed regret at the service received by women using the pilot. Natalie Collins, Swan’s ex-wife, made her own allegation of rape against Swan in 2006 only to be left devastated after a jury returned a not-guilty verdict. She has supported the three women throughout their experience with the justice system. Her own experiences led to her becoming the founder and chief executive of Own My Life, a charity that trains practitioners throughout the UK to help women who have suffered abuse to regain ownership of their lives.

Ms Collins said despite the high-profile announcement of the pilot, complainers were being left in the dark. She said it was especially important for other women where the accused was found not guilty.

“For lots of women, they are devastated at the fact the man will still be in their community, and that they potentially still have to see him,” she said. “They need to know what happened in their case and understand the verdict. But how can they do that if they’re waiting for a year and getting no proper communication?”

She added: “It’s absolutely unacceptable that this process has been so poorly thought through. It feels like the Government has made an announcement without having any of the necessary mechanisms in place to make sure it works.”

Delays are ‘upsetting’ for survivors

Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said it was crucial to address the problems in an important initiative that survivors had campaigned hard to bring about. She pointed out that currently, the only way they could watch the rest of a trial after giving evidence was to sit in a court’s public gallery, behind the accused.

That “just isn’t an option” for many people, said Ms Brindley, who suggested the SCTS could make a “huge, positive difference” by developing a secure way for victims to watch the rest of trials without having to be physically present in courtrooms.

Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, has called for an independent external evaluation of the scheme. Picture: John Devlin | John Devlin

“It’s so disappointing to see survivors’ feedback about the process of trying to access their transcripts,” she said. “A number of survivors have spoken with us about how upsetting the delays are in getting a copy of their transcript. If this is due to insufficient resources, then that’s an issue the Scottish Government must address.

“The Government should commission an independent external evaluation of how the pilot is working, that includes seeking feedback from survivors who have used it about how the process was for them and what could be improved.”

A spokesman for the SCTS: “The pilot has been a success, with more than 80 applications received up until the start of February this year. We understand the need for people to receive these transcripts as soon as possible and, while we do try to provide the transcripts in a timely manner, we accept that there have been considerable delays in the case of some complainers accessing their transcripts. We apologise for any distress this has caused.

“During the application process, applicants are asked how they would like the SCTS to communicate with them and how they would like the transcript to be sent to them. Information on available support services is also provided when transcripts are produced.”

The spokesman said the SCTS would be “reviewing the approach” taken to consider any improvements that can be made “within the available resource”.

Ms Constance said: “I am sorry to hear of these negative experiences. We are working with SCTS to address the issues that have been raised in a minority of cases.

“I have extended the pilot for a further 12 months so that lessons like these can be learnt, as part of the wider evaluation of the programme, so it can achieve its aim of helping improve victims’ experience of the justice system. As part of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, I am also exploring how greater access to free transcripts can be provided in the future.”

If you need help, you can call Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline on 08088 01 03 02. Samaritans can also help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, via its helpline, 116 123.