APCC Victims Lead responds to the Violence against Women and Girls refreshed strategy
Responding to the Violence against Women and Girls refreshed strategy, APCC Victims Lead, Dame Vera Baird QC, said:
“I welcome the refreshed VAWG strategy and particularly the funding announced to back it. VAWG victims make up over half of high-harm, vulnerable and repeat victims in the Criminal Justice system and rarely emerge from it pleased with what has happened to them.
“I therefore particularly welcome the cross-sector end-to end-review of how rape and sexual offences are conducted, from reporting to police right through to the end of the court process. It’s a cause of worry that the number of sex offenders referred by police for prosecutions has dropped and the numbers prosecuted has fallen even more, all at a time when there are thousands more serious sexual complaints. This mismatch is capable of robbing any victim of the confidence to report a sexual assault. Rapists are usually serial offenders and will continue until they are made to stop and so there is also a serious wider risk to public safety from this concern. This is an issue that I have continued to raise with Government, and I look forward to working with them on their end-to-end review.”