Rape victims 'should get more support to repair lives'

EVERY victim of rape should be offered the support of a specialist adviser to help them keep faith in the criminal justice system, a landmark review recommended today.

Hundreds of independent workers would help those whose lives were torn apart by sexual violence make sense of the police inquiry and the prosecution of those responsible.

The review into the way public authorities handle cases of sexual violence praised the work of specialist rape investigation units in Yorkshire.

Baroness Stern said the work of teams, such as the Apollo Unit in South Yorkshire, was impressive and recommended police chiefs closely assess the benefits and consider rolling them out further.

Speaking at the launch of her review, Lady Stern said: “We must take a broader approach to measuring success in dealing with rape, a unique and very difficult crime to deal with.

“The conviction rate has taken over the debate to the detriment of other important outcomes for victims. Prosecuting and convicting is of course important but my view is that support and care for victims should be as high a priority.”

The crossbench peer said her work focused on turning policy into “action on the ground” and called for misleading statistics around rape, particularly the often quoted six per cent conviction rate, to be put in context as they are unnecessarily undermining the confidence of victims.

She was tasked with undertaking an independent review into the way rape is handled by

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