Campaign group End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) has pointed to more major flaws in the UK’s justice system that it says is “failing women,” after new data shows rape and domestic abuse survivors face a broken system stacked against them.

Figures from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) released on 20 January show that in a three month period in 2021, there was little if any improvement in charging, prosecuting and convicting cases of rape and domestic violence.

“Our justice system is broken and failing women. Despite continuous promises to improve and targets to meet, the system is completely stagnant when it comes to rape. Likewise, the alarming downward trajectory in charging, prosecuting and convicting in cases of domestic abuse requires urgent and serious attention,” said Rebecca Hitchen, head of policy and campaigns at the coalition.

The data pointed to what EVAW calls a “stagnant system falling significantly short of its own target of meeting 2016 levels of prosecution and convictions.” According to the CPS, during this period, convictions for rape have dropped from 2,991 in 2016 to 1,100 in 2020/2021.

Previously, the government and CPS had made a public commitment that charging in cases of rape would return to the levels seen in 2016 by 2024, and EVAW claims that shows that the CPS “isn’t anywhere near making the improvements needed to deliver their promise”.

In early 2021, analysis of Home Office figures revealed that fewer than one in 60 rape cases recorded by the police last year resulted in a suspect being charged.

The data also showed that while there appears to be an improvement in prosecutions and convictions compared to the previous year, when compared to pre-pandemic data, there are still long term reductions in domestic abuse charging, prosecutions and convictions. 

In the wake of the murders of Ashling Murphy, Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard, there has been an increased spotlight on what both the government and police are doing to help tackle male violence against women. However, an app backed by the Home Office and designed to help keep women safe on their walk home has received backlash for not tackling the root of the problem.

“We can’t talk about rebuilding women’s trust in the police and justice system while there is no tangible positive change to the things that matter – seeing justice and getting the specialist support survivors need,” Hitchen continues.

“Almost one year on from the public outcry following Sarah Everard’s murder, very little if anything has changed in the response to violence against women. Once again we’re calling on the government and CPS to give this deeply unjust issue the attention it warrants, demonstrate strong leadership and ensure proper accountability.”

And that’s why Stylist recently renewed its call on the government and Home Secretary Priti Patel to launch a long-term public awareness campaign about male violence against women, aimed directly at men, through our initiative #AFearlessFuture.

The government committed to this kind of campaign back in July when it published its long-awaited strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, but it’s yet to publish any further details about when this might emerge.

To find out more about Stylist’s #AFearlessFuture initiative, and to join us in writing to the Home Secretary, you can check out the A Fearless Future series. 

Images: Getty