This book examines the justice gap and trial process for sexual assault against both adults and children in two jurisdictions: England and Wales and New South Wales, Australia. Drawing on decades of research, it investigates the reality of the policing and prosecution of sexual assault offences – often seen as one of the ‘hardest crimes to prosecute’ – across two similar jurisdictions. Despite the introduction of the many reform options detailed in the book, satisfactory outcomes for victims and the public are still difficult to obtain. Cossins takes a new approach by examining the nature and effects of adversarialism on vulnerable witnesses, jury decision-making and the structures of power within the trial process, to show how, and at what points, that process is weighted against complainants of sexual assault, in order to make evidence-based suggestions for reform. She argues that this justice gap is a result of a moralistic adversarial culture which fosters myths and misconceptions about rape and child sexual assault, thus requiring the prosecution to prove a complainant’s moral worthiness. She argues this culture can only be eliminated by a radical replacement of the adversarial system with a trauma-informed system. By reviewing the relevant psychological literature, this book documents the triggers for re-traumatisation within an adversarial trial, and discusses the reform measures that would be necessary to transform the sexual assault trial from one where the complainant’s moral worthiness is ‘on trial’ to a fully functioning trauma-informed system. It speaks to students and academics across subjects including law, criminology, gender studies and psychology, and practitioners in law and victim services, as well as policy-makers.

This book is set against the background of the 'justice gap' in sexual assault cases - the dramatic gap between the number of offences recorded by the police and the number of convictions. It seeks to examine the attitudinal problems which bedevil this area of law and possible strategies for addressing them. Written by a professor of law and a professor of psychology, it reviews evidence from socio-legal and social cognition research and presents new data drawn both from interviews with judges and barristers and from studies with prospective lawyers and members of the public. In the final part, it considers different ways in which rape trials could be improved and suggests steps that could be taken to change public attitudes about sexual assault.

This book examines the justice gap and trial process for sexual assault against both adults and children in two jurisdictions: England and Wales and New South Wales, Australia. Drawing on decades of research, it investigates the reality of the policing and prosecution of sexual assault offences – often seen as one of the ‘hardest crimes to prosecute’ – across two similar jurisdictions. Despite the introduction of many reform options, satisfactory outcomes for victims and the public are still difficult to obtain. Cossins takes a new approach by examining the structures of power within the trial process, to show how and at what points that process is weighted against complainants of sexual assault, in order to make thought-out suggestions for reform. She argues that this justice gap is a result of myths and misconceptions about rape which can be eliminated by a radical replacement of the adversarial system with a trauma-informed system. This book takes into consideration the psychological literature and speaks to students and academics across subjects including law, criminology, gender studies and psychology, and to practitioners in law and victim services, and policy-makers.

Home Office figures show an ongoing decline in the conviction rate for reported rape cases, with the conviction rate in 2002 being 5.6 per cent. This report draws on material from two evaluation projects funded by the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme Violence Against Women Initiative in an attempt to explain the high attrition rate in rape cases. It presents findings from the evaluation of two Sexual Assault Referral Centres, one non-centre based support service and three comparison areas where there was no specialist service for victims. Researchers tracked 3,500 rape cases through the courts and interviewed 228 rape victims. The authors identify six points at which attrition is likely to occur, and make recommendations for targeted interventions to reduce the attrition rate in these cases.

The authors describe the origins and history of legal aid as well as New Labour's attempts to reform the system years on. They argue that on its 60th anniversary legal aid has fallen short of its original aims.

Rape: Challenging Contemporary Thinking – 10 Years On takes stock of current thinking and research about rape and the way it is handled in practice within the criminal justice system, as well as challenging some of the widely held but inaccurate beliefs about rape. The second edition of Rape: Challenging Contemporary Thinking – 10 Years On is not a traditional new edition, although it does provide updated versions of substantive issues covered in the first edition. Bringing the book to the cutting edge, it incorporates both old and new contexts where sexual exploitation takes place, identifying some knowledge gaps especially when considering the voices of complainants/victims/survivors who are invisible or muted, numerous new areas of research including the implications arising from #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, the limitations of our present criminal justice systems, and radical alternatives to closing the justice gap. The new book reflects the global reach of research and thinking about rape, including more international coverage, with material from India, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand as well as the UK. In order to learn from our shared history in this field, two authors reflect on their careers and other authors were encouraged to move away from conventional academic formats to convey their stories. Bringing together leading researchers in the field of psychology, sociology, and law, considering new research, and presenting new data from a strong theoretical and contextual base, the chapters are provocative and engage in innovative thinking, whilst remaining grounded in the available evidence. This book is essential reading for students of criminology, forensic psychology, sociology, criminal justice, law, media studies, and women’s/gender studies. It also aims to inform professionals engaged in the investigation, prosecution of rape, support, and preventative services.

Concerned by the high attrition rates for sexual crime and the secondary victimization experienced by victims during their participation in the criminal justice system, this book analyses the extent to which restorative justice can address the justice gap that exists in current justice provision. Building on clinical experience and earlier research on sexual crime the authors engage with the complex dynamics and traumatic impact of sexual crime as a critical starting point for their research and examine whether restorative justice can contribute to a more enhanced justice response. The book presents extensive new data on restorative justice as applied in sexual violence cases across the globe. It engages with feminist concerns regarding the traumatic impact of sexual violence and the power imbalances that characterise these offences, as well as the potential for re-traumatisation and re-victimisation during the judicial process. While there is a risk of coercion of the victim to participate in the process, and manipulation of restorative justice by the offender, restorative justice has the potential to lead to the reprivatisation of sexual crime and ultimately to its decriminalisation. Having examined these topics in detail, the book concludes there is an important role for restorative justice in addressing the justice gap that exists after sexual crime and offers guidance on how this can be achieved.