Rape awareness courses for prosecution lawyers
9 Jun 06
Training aimed at giving Crown Office lawyers an understanding of victims' point of view
All lawyers in the Crown Office are to be sent on a specialist training course to give them more of an understanding of rape and other sexual offences, according to today's Herald.
Solicitor General Elish Angiolini said prosecutors, juries and society needed to change the way they thought about rape. In the main, it wasn't an act committed by strangers - 95% of cases prosecuted by Crown Office are acquaintance rapes.
The rape awareness training is one of a number of measures recommended from a review of the way the prosecutors handle such cases. Its aim, the report states, is to give more of an insight into the victims' point of view.
The course will include discussions with organisations such as Women's Aid and Rape Crisis. At present, only 6% of women who report rapes to the police will see a successful prosecution in court; of these around 26% result in conviction.
The Crown Office review was undertaken in response to concerns about the redefinition of rape in March 2002, which meant that the prosecution had to prove not only that the victim did not consent to sexual intercourse, but that the accused knew she did not consent.