RCEW comments on the Government’s announcement of new specialist rape courts

Rape Crisis England and Wales welcome the Government’s announcement of new specialist rape courts, which promises to be a step in the right direction for survivors.

One of the most crucial mechanisms for ending rape and securing justice for survivors is our legal system.

For years RCEW have been drawing attention to the devastating impact of Crown Court delays and practices on survivors of rape and other serious sexual offences

If our justice system is incapable of hearing cases in a timely and trauma-informed manner, more women and girls will be at risk of violence and abuse.

The government has announced this week that specialist Courtrooms for rape and serious sexual offences will be rolled out across every Crown Court in England and Wales by 2028.

The impact of court delays on survivors

Our award-winning Policy and Public Affairs team have long campaigned for change, for the criminal justice system to be fit for purpose, and for survivors to finally have their day in court.

But at the end of March 2026 (Q1) there were 80,061 total cases awaiting trial in the Crown Court, and 19% of cases in the backlog were sexual offence cases.

On average, users of the Crown Court can expect to wait 262 days on average between their case being sent to the Crown Court, and the completion of a trial.

For those involved in sexual offence cases, the wait is 370 days on average. The wait for justice is often longer for many survivors, and the impact on their lives is devastating.

"I spent weeks having panic attacks and not sleeping; I wasn’t eating; my whole life was falling apart again. But I was prepared to tell my side to the court so I could finally be heard. Then it got postponed again – I was told I had to wait a year." - Charlotte*, an adult survivor of child rape and sexual abuse.

Waiting years for trials, only to have them postponed in the last minute – in many cases repeatedly – has left survivors living in limbo, with their confidence and trust in the criminal justice system eroding with every further delay.

Court backlogs have also meant that perpetrators of sexual offences have been at large in the community, to reoffend whilst they await trial.

This is what the Rape Crisis movement has been fighting to change.

RCEW campaigns for criminal justice reform

We have campaigned for years on the issue of Crown Court delays and practices on survivors of rape and other serious sexual offences, most recently in our report ‘Living in Limbo’.

We highlighted five of the key causes and contributors to the current Crown Court backlog and its retraumatisation of sexual violence victims and survivors:

1. Chronic underfunding and undervaluing of the criminal legal profession;
2. Insufficient judicial capacity;
3. Underused courtrooms;
4. Inefficient and harmful listing practices; and
5. A lack of trial efficiency and effectiveness.

We were very pleased to see in early 2026 that Sir Leveson relied on our report to inform his own review and subsequent recommendations:

“Whilst I hope that many of the recommendations in this Review will make a significant difference in RASSO cases, I recognise that there is more to do. The recent Rape Crisis report, ‘Living in Limbo’, outlines the challenges still facing rape victims attributable to the court open caseload. It highlights many of the systemic issues I have identified here, including barrister and judge availability and the need to improve trial effectiveness, and how these specifically impact RASSO cases. In particular, it draws out the traumatic experience of victims waiting for long periods for trials, often only to then find they are adjourned, and the impact this has on their mental well-being and their lives”. - Sir Leveson, p671 of the report.

Government announces specialist rape courts

The Government promises that rape cases will be prioritised in the courts, and survivors will be placed at the centre of the criminal justice system.

While specialist rape courts are not a new idea, there is the potential for this to make a real difference for survivors of rape and sexual abuse.

For years, survivors of sexual violence have told us about the traumatising practice and experience of ‘floating’ trial dates, whereby rape cases are listed as lower priority than other offences, leading to rape hearings being postponed at the last minute.

This package of measures responds directly to these issues, and others that we set out in our Breaking Point & Living in Limbo reports:

• Each Crown Court having at least one courtroom able to implement special measures, such as remote participation and separate waiting areas. This will allow survivors to observe the sentencing remotely and feel safely separated from the perpetrator.
• New listing arrangements to end the use of floating listings for these cases, which will provide assurance for survivors of rape and sexual abuse seeking justice.
• A Rape Justice Taskforce chaired by the Lord Chancellor himself, as recommended by Sir Brian Leveson in his review of the Criminal Courts – a review which referenced our work on the Crown Courts crisis several times.
• Better communication with survivors through a single point of contact, allowing for survivors to access timely, informative and consistent information about their trial.

Next steps

The test now will be implementation.

Implemented properly, this change will address many of the current challenges. It will prioritise rape cases in listing decisions, and ensure buildings, facilities and the general court environs are fit for purpose, are as safe and comfortable as possible for survivors of sexual violence and abuse.

It will ensure survivors can access justice in a timely manner, without being further traumatised by the process. And perhaps, in time, it will encourage more survivors to come forward and report their experiences to the police.

We look forward to working closely with Government to ensure it is implemented effectively.