London rape cases face significantly longer court delays than other crimes, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) data indicates.
With court delays increasing year by year, and with no end in sight, the continued disparity between the finalisation of rape cases versus the general crime statistics pose a worrying reality for vulnerable victims.
Rafaela Elliston, an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) working at Solace North London, sees the impacts these delays are having on victims.
“I think when you turn the corner with a case and it’s charged, it’s then like you’re suddenly at the base of another mountain again, when it should be that a whole load of the work is done,” she said.
Since 2023, the CPS has published quarterly operational data tracking referral, prosecution, and finalisation timelines across England.
While not official Ministry of Justice statistics, the data offers insight into how long cases take to move through the criminal justice system.
The people behind the numbers
Behind these statistics are victims navigating years of waiting for legal closure.
In 2019, Sophie Smith was 19 years old, at university, and dealing with the aftermath of being raped by a trusted adult.
Later that year, she had reported to the police and was thrust into the legal system.
She said: “Going into it, if I had known how long the process was, I think I wouldn’t have gone through with it.
“You’re asking somebody to dedicate multiple years of their life to reopen that wound again.”
From the date of first report, it took about three years for her case to go to trial.
Smith added: “I’ve heard from fellow survivors that that is seen as quite quick in today’s view, after Covid.”
Now working as a mental health professional, she sees the current system as problematic for victims’ recovery, failing to be properly ‘trauma informed’.
This is an issue Elliston sees in her work navigating the legal system for her clients.
She explained: “The justice system is getting slightly trauma informed, but I just think the reality of these systemic delays and the pressures is that it has a really serious impact on survivors’ well-being.
“Sexual violence just does not match up with the very, very narrow door of legal proceedings.”
Referrals versus prosecution rates
Since 2023, rape referrals rose by 78% in London, with prosecutions increasing at the significantly slower rate of 50%.
While the slower rise in prosecutions may reflect both survivor attrition and wider court backlogs affecting rape cases, the comparative rise in prosecution rates for other crimes suggests structural barriers for rape victims in the pursuit of justice.
Elliston added: “In terms of estimating how many survivors through our organisation get their day in court, it’s quite hard. It’s definitely less than a third of my caseload at any time.
“If we had 200 clients roughly in a year, possibly 50 of them would go to court.
“I think a huge part for us of cases not getting further is the survivors understandably not being able to continue with the process.
“They’ve disengaged in some way, whether willingly, or whether that’s to do with their mental health, or their immigration status, or just the emotional toll, or they’ve heard how long it would be and they’ve decided they can’t continue.”
So what’s next?
Both Elliston and Smith see the possibility for change, however.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent controversy over his government’s Courts and Tribunal Bill has sparked conversation about the need to modernise and streamline our courts systems.
Elliston believes this can be done for rape and sexual violence cases by a fuller utilisation of Section 28– the right to give early, pre-recorded evidence, outside of the courtroom walls.
She added: “You can see how old they are. You can see how tall they are. They can sit and be comfortable. They don’t have to go to court.
“If the perpetrator also wants to have their evidence recorded as well, that’s fine. Then the case can be stored on video, and a jury and judge can review it.”
Smith believes the reforms can go further, however.
She added: “I think for sexual violence cases, it should be a group of professionals, a forensic psychologist, psychiatrist, a criminologist, people who can understand.”
The current backlogs are not predicted to clear any time soon, but things can still change.
Smith concluded: “All we can do is keep talking and keep pushing. But, it’s going to get to a point where people can’t continue like this.”
The Department of Justice has been contacted for comment.
Feature Image Credit: Katrin Bolovtsova via Pexels
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