Key facts
- Specialist courtrooms for rape and serious sexual offense cases will be introduced across England and Wales over the next two years.
- Each crown court will have at least one courtroom set up to hear such cases.
- Alleged victims will be able to view proceedings remotely and give evidence from a separate room via video link.
- Court staff will be given trauma-informed training.
- Trials will be given a fixed date rather than placed on floating lists.
- The changes follow Labour MP Charlotte Nichols speaking publicly about being raped and calling for changes to the justice system.
Specialist courtrooms designed to prioritize cases of rape and other serious sexual offenses are set to be implemented throughout England and Wales over the next two years, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced. The measures aim to encourage more survivors to come forward and improve their experience within the justice system. Each crown court will have at least one courtroom especially set up to hear such cases, while alleged victims will be able to view proceedings remotely and give evidence from a separate room via video link. They will also be provided with private entrances and waiting rooms to separate them from defendants, though this will be dependent on building architecture.
The changes, expected to cost around £23 million from the Ministry of Justice's budget, will also include trauma-informed training for court staff and a single point of contact for each survivor. From next month, trials will be given a fixed date rather than placed on floating lists, an effort Prime Minister Burnham described as an attempt to "rebalance the scales of justice and put victims first."
The government stated the changes follow Labour MP Charlotte Nichols's public account of being raped and her subsequent call for reforms. Nichols waived her right to anonymity in March to describe waiting over 1,000 days for her case to go to court. She had accused the then Justice Secretary, David Lammy, of using crime victims as a "cudgel" to push through legal system reforms. Her attacker was acquitted in crown court but later ordered to pay compensation after she won a civil case against him. Rape Crisis England and Wales called the measures a "significant step forward" and said they reflected the urgency of ensuring courts meet the needs of victims and survivors. The Conservatives' shadow justice secretary, Nick Timothy, said tackling delays was "long overdue" but questioned Labour's plans to restrict jury trials, stating that victims withdrawing cases due to delays had been a "disgrace."