UK govt apologises for declining rape conviction rates to the victims

LONDON: The British Government has asked for an apology for failing rape victims and acknowledged that swingeing cuts to the legal system in recent years contributed to plunging conviction rates.

The government yesterday on its Rape Review said that the situation was “totally unacceptable” and that authorities are determined to change it.

As per figures revealed by the Crown Persecution Service as many as 1,439 suspects were convicted of rape or lesser sexual offenses in England and Wales in 2020 — the lowest level since records began — despite reports of rape to police almost doubling since 2015.

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"The first thing I need to say is sorry," said Justice Secretary Robert Buckland in an interview with BBC.

In 2019, there were 1,925 convictions, despite reports of adult rape to police has almost doubled since 2015-16, when there were 4,643 prosecutions.

Between 2015-16 and 2019-20, the number of reported rape cases that ended in a suspect being charged fell from 13 percent to three percent.

Some 128,000 people a year are victims of rape and attempted rape, but only 1.6 percent of reported cases result in a charge, the figures stated.

"These are trends of which we are deeply ashamed," wrote Buckland, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Attorney General Michael Ellis in the report.

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