WHY IS IT SO HARD TO SECURE A CONVICTION Pg. 3
BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT
Looking at the difficulties in proving whether a rape was committed or not and the legal system's handling of rape cases
Defence Barrister Bullying
But even when the case gets to court, the victim is often put under such strenuous cross-examination that they, themselves, feel as if they are on trial.
Jon Collins works for the Fawcett Society which campaigns for equality for men and women in the UK. He said:
“There was a case recently where the defence lawyer suggested that the victim was probably glad of the attention because she was overweight. No wonder it puts people off reporting. It makes people more likely to drop out of the system. We know how traumatic a rape trial can be for the victim. It’s not the victim who’s on trial but they’re often treated like it is.”
The Criminal Bar Association, a professional body of lawyers represents many of these defence lawyers. Julian Bradley, a spokesperson for the CBA, again, admitted that this is often the case. He said:
“The expression that's often used is that the defence barristers are “devious”, or in some way underhand or immoral in the way they approached their defence strategy. Well, actually, that’s their job!”
Incompetant Juries
Finally, should the alleged victim manage to put their case to all of the above, there still remains one group of people who may still be sceptical, and according to Lord Campbell-Savours, from the House of Lords, these may be the least informed people of all. He said:
“Juries very often take decisions in rape cases irrespective of what the law says. They look at the people involved and they say, ‘Do I think it happened?’ The law is not really of any great consequence to them.”
With so many different stages to the process, its no wonder the conviction rate is low. Only 14% of cases even make it to court.