Braverman and the Zombie Policy that Lets Rapists Walk Free

Braverman & the Zombie PolicyThat Lets Rapists Walk Free

During the Conservative Party Conference, Home Secretary Suella Braverman raised the issue of anonymity for rape defendants – a policy that fails victims and blocks women’s access to justice, Sian Norris reports

The Home Secretary Suella Braverman told a Young Conservative event during this month’s party conference that “we do have to look at the issue” of naming suspects of serious crimes in order to protect those who are wrongly accused from a “media circus”.

But such a change to the existing laws risks restricting access to justice, particularly victims of rape and other forms of gender-based violence.

“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,” said Jayne Butler, CEO of Rape Crisis England and Wales.

Anonymity for rape defendants has been repeatedly proposed over the past 50 years, and was briefly in place for rape defendants during the 1970s. The Coalition Government of 2010 also attempted to introduce anonymity before it was decided there was not enough evidence to justify a law change.

But despite the policy’s failures in the 1970s, and the lack of evidence it works, it appears demands for anonymity is the zombie policy that never dies. 

Farah Nazeer, chief executive at Women’s Aid said: “Parliament has considered this issue on numerous occasions and concluded that there is no justification for a change”.

The argument in favour of anonymity was voiced by Braverman during her speech: high-profile cases, often involving celebrities accused of child abuse or gender-based violence, have led to men being hounded by the press, only for it to be revealed there was no case to answer. 

Examples include unfounded allegations against Sir Cliff Richard, who received £210,000 damages from the BBC after it flew a helicopter over his house when police searched his home in connection with false historical child sexual assault claims.

While these incidents are obviously upsetting for those involved, focusing on anonymity for men accused of rape ignores how the real crisis when it comes to criminal justice and rape is not false allegations, but the failure to prosecute and convict violent men.

It is women and girls who are systemically failed by the criminal justice system at every level when it comes to rape, not innocent men. That failing stretches from how women are unlikely even to report rape, to being treated as criminals themselves should they report, and the lack of prosecutions and convictions. 

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A Crisis of Justice

In the year leading up to March 2022, police recorded the highest number of reported rapes at 70,330. The vast majority (83%) of women are raped by someone they know, while half of rapes against women are carried out by a partner or former partner. 

However, this number is likely the tip of the iceberg: one in four women will experience rape or sexual assault as an adult, as will one in 20 men. Five in six female rape survivors will never report to the police.

Of the rapes that were reported in 2021, only one in 100 was charged that same year. Prosecution rates for rape are at an all-time low: in 2020-21 there were 1,557 rape prosecutions in England and Wales compared to 67,125 rapes recorded by the police. 

The high numbers of rapes, along with failures to charge and prosecute offenders have led to experts claiming that rape has been “decriminalised” in the UK. 

In contrast, false allegations of rape are rare. A CPS report published in 2013 found that over a 17-month period, there were 5,651 prosecutions for rape and 35 prosecutions for making false allegations of rape. The rate for false allegations stands at around 3% – this is no higher than any other crime, such as false allegations of fraud. 

“There is simply no evidence to support the pervasive myth that women make false allegations of rape: Baroness Stern’s Review in 2010 concluded that false reports are extremely rare, and research by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) found that false allegations of sexual offences are no higher than for other crime,” said Nazeer.

It’s also important to note that a not-guilty verdict, or a case collapsing, does not mean the alleged victim is automatically guilty of making a false allegation. As with all crimes, she is innocent until proven guilty, too. It may mean that there was, for example, insufficient evidence to convict, the report was “no crime-d”, or the alleged victim dropped the charges.  

“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,” said Martyn.

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Access to Justice 

While there is little evidence that anonymity for rape defendants works as a policy, there is plenty to demonstrate that naming defendants improves women’s access to justice. 

Perhaps the most famous example of this was the John Worboys case – the black cab driver jailed in 2009 for attacks against 12 women. Naming Worboys in the press led to more women coming forward to the police to report attacks. Some estimates suggest he raped 102 women.

When the former broadcaster Stuart Hall was accused of historic sexual offences, Lancashire Police confirmed that publicity surrounding his initial arrest led to more victims coming forward, helping to secure the conviction. 

Speaking at the time, Bob Satchwell of the Society of Editors said: “it is worth noting that if Stuart Hall had not been named when he was arrested he might never have been brought to court. None of his victims knew one another”. 

When growing numbers of women started speaking out about abuse committed by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, more were encouraged to speak up, leading to his eventual conviction.

Nic Mainwood, from the Centre for Women’s Justice, told Byline Times: “If a suspect is named and a victim can see someone else has reported him it will encourage her to come forward. Anonymity for suspects will prevent the identification of serial rapists and will undermine the ability of the criminal justice system to capture some of the most serious offenders”.