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29/03/2006
Government unveils plans for rape trials
The government has unveiled a series of proposals aimed at increasing the number of rape convictions.
The number of rape allegations that result in a conviction currently stands at just 5.6%.
The new measures include plans to allow experts to provide evidence on the trauma suffered by victims and the way they tend to react after the attack.
Juries often find it difficult to believe that a rape victim would not suffer any physical injuries or understand why battered women often return to their abusive partners.
Juries also often find it difficult to understand delays in reporting rapes. However, psychologists and counsellors say that delays in reporting rapes are not unusual, due to the victim being too traumatised to come forward.
The proposals would also allow juries to decide if a woman was too drunk to consent to sex, rather than judges.
There are also plans to allow the victim's video-taped interview with the police to be shown to the jury.
The government has announced plans to contribute funds towards start-up costs for new sexual assault referral centres.
(KMcA)
The number of rape allegations that result in a conviction currently stands at just 5.6%.
The new measures include plans to allow experts to provide evidence on the trauma suffered by victims and the way they tend to react after the attack.
Juries often find it difficult to believe that a rape victim would not suffer any physical injuries or understand why battered women often return to their abusive partners.
Juries also often find it difficult to understand delays in reporting rapes. However, psychologists and counsellors say that delays in reporting rapes are not unusual, due to the victim being too traumatised to come forward.
The proposals would also allow juries to decide if a woman was too drunk to consent to sex, rather than judges.
There are also plans to allow the victim's video-taped interview with the police to be shown to the jury.
The government has announced plans to contribute funds towards start-up costs for new sexual assault referral centres.
(KMcA)
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Every UK police force needs to set up a specialist unit to investigate rape allegations, a senior officer has said. Speaking on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers, John Yates, said that such teams would "help raise standards of victim care".
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Rochdale Paedophile Ringleader Named
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The ringleader of a paedophile gang in Rochdale, who groomed young white girls for sex, has been named after being found guilty of 30 separate child rape charges. Shabir Ahmed, 59, led a child sex exploitation ring of nine men who targeted vulnerable young girls in the Rochdale and Oldham areas of Greater Manchester.
01 February 2006
Date rape case judges 'can influence trial outcome'
A judge's summing-up can influence a jury's decision in date rape cases, a report has suggested. The research, conducted for the British Psychological Society, presented 168 university students with a date rape scenario, which included a summing-up statement by the judge, and asked them to decide on the guilt of the alleged rapist.
Date rape case judges 'can influence trial outcome'
A judge's summing-up can influence a jury's decision in date rape cases, a report has suggested. The research, conducted for the British Psychological Society, presented 168 university students with a date rape scenario, which included a summing-up statement by the judge, and asked them to decide on the guilt of the alleged rapist.
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