BRITAIN’S “broken” justice system is failing women as the latest rape and sexual offence figures showed an increase in offences while conviction rates remained low, campaigners have warned.

End Violence Against Women Coalition (Evaw) director Andrea Simon today hit out at Tory government’s “overstated claims of progress.”

She spoke out in response to Office for National Statistics (ONS) reporting increased numbers of rape, sexual offences and domestic abuse offences recorded by the police over the past year.

Separate Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) quarterly figures also showed “marginal progress” in rape prosecutions and convictions which remain well below the numbers seen in 2016.”

Ms Simon said: “This data once again shows that our broken criminal justice system is simply not performing well enough for victims and survivors of male violence, despite government promises to overhaul the system and recent overstated claims of progress.

“It is simply unacceptable that we have not yet reached 2016 levels of charging and convictions for rape — the government’s own target — which in itself is a low bar.

“This is happening while sexual offences recorded by the police are increasing, and demand for specialist support is spiralling.”

An EVAW spokesman added there has been a “significant increase” in the number of rape cases referred by the police to the CPS, with the total resulting in charges — 3,004 — the highest since 2016.

“While we are pleased to see increases in the number of rape cases where charges are brought, these still fall significantly short of the government’s own target of returning to levels last seen in 2016,” she said.

The coalition noted only “marginal progress” in rape prosecutions from 2,655 in the last financial year, “well below” the 5,194 seen in 2016-17, with a similar pattern for convictions.

While figures for domestic abuse reports started to rise again last year, “prosecution rates continue to fall, with a deeply concerning and significant fall from 2016 figures,” she said.

“Conviction numbers are following a similar trajectory, with 39,198 convictions in the year ending March 2023 compared to 40,647 the previous year.”

Earlier this month, attorney general Victoria Prentis KC said that rape survivors had told her of being discouraged to engage in the “long road” of the justice process, saying “strong progress has been made to transform the response to rape” in the two years after the government’s End-to-End Rape review.