LEADING women’s groups have expressed “deep disappointment” with the government rape report’s “lack of ambition” to tackle the collapse in conviction rates. 

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland apologised for failing rape survivors and admitted that cuts to the legal system were partly to blame for plummeting conviction rates, which have fallen to their lowest level on record.   

The government said it was now considering allowing victims to pre-record their evidence to spare them the trauma of recounting their abuse in court as part of measures to improve victims’ experiences of the legal system. 

Its review also outlines plans to focus more on the suspect’s behaviour rather than the accuser’s and ensure that victims’ phones taken away for evidence gathering were returned within 24 hours. 

But women’s groups said the changes proposed do not go far enough to tackle the “systematic failures at the heart of this urgent justice crisis.”

End Violence Against Women Coalition director Andrea Simon said: “The collapse in rape prosecution rates clearly point to failings in a justice system that does not put survivors first, yet the review contains little that would hold criminal justice agencies to account. 

“We would have hoped to have seen some measures examining the governance of the [Crown Prosecution Service] and mechanisms that would demand greater leadership and prioritisation of rape justice among senior leaders of the police, CPS and government. 

“We also needed more in-depth interrogation into what is going wrong in courts, including a ban on the use of sexual history evidence and an honest look at the role of juries, and the re-traumatising impact of the courtroom.”

Rape Crisis England and Wales policy lead Amelia Handy slammed the report as a “missed opportunity” and said it failed to identify any big commitments that would radically and swiftly improve rape victims’ experience.

The review was launched in 2019, following pressure from women’s groups. 

It found that fewer than 20 per cent of the 128,000 victims of rape and attempted rape report the crime to the police with just 1.6 per cent resulting in someone being charged. 

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Buckland said the report revealed “at all stages of the criminal justice process frankly a failure to deal with complaints made by many thousands of victims.”

“The first thing I think I need to say is, sorry — it’s not good enough.”

But Victims Commissioner for England and Wales Dame Vera Baird said the Justice Secretary’s apology will mean “nothing” to survivors whose cases were dropped.