At a time when charging, prosecution and conviction rates for rape and other sexual offences are unacceptably low, we’re unsure why the Home Secretary is choosing to discuss anonymity for suspects and not the Government’s plan to improve the experiences of survivors in the justice system.
False allegations of rape are extremely rare. In fact, the vast majority of rape victims and survivors still choose not to report to the police for a range of reasons, including fear of not being believed, of being blamed and of being treated poorly by the criminal justice system.
Approaches like this will prevent survivors from coming forwards, denying access to justice for the thousands of people subjected to these traumatic crimes every year. We ask that the Home Secretary considers her comments and the damage this would do to survivors’ trust in the justice system.