Over the next two years, England and Wales will roll out new specialist courts for rape cases, complete with fixed trial dates and separate rooms for survivors. The Ministry of Justice is contributing £23m to that effort, according to the government.
Each crown court will be required to have a courtroom designated for sexual offences, with survivors able to attend remotely and give evidence from a separate room through video link. The courts will also provide private entrances and waiting rooms that keep survivors separate from defendants, a feature that will vary depending on the building’s design.
The new courtrooms
Court staff will receive “trauma-informed training” and a single person of contact will be assigned to each survivor. Trials will be given fixed dates from next month rather than placed on floating lists.
Nichols’ speech
Charlotte Nichols, a member of Parliament for Labour, made her assault public in March, giving up her right to remain anonymous in the process. She recounted waiting more than 1,000 days before going to court.
She said she had waited 1,088 days to go to court, with every day being “agony”, and the “trauma” made worse by her role in public life. Her attacker was acquitted at crown court, though she won a civil case against him and was ordered to be paid compensation.
A year of dropped cases
The Salford Survivor Project last year said victims of rape and sexual assault were being “failed by the system” as court backlogs reached a record high. A woman last year dropped a case of sexual assault by a taxi driver on her 21st birthday because of court delays.
An alleged incident was reported in early 2022, and the woman gave evidence in court in December 2023, but the case did not reach a conclusion, instead being put off until September 2024, when the judge fell ill. That adjournment prompted the Crown Prosecution Service to say the case was dropped because of insufficient evidence.
Government response
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said for too long, victims of rape and serious sexual offences have felt let down by the justice system. Labour promised in its 2024 manifesto to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
Nichols’ criticism
The then Justice Secretary, David Lammy, was accused by Nichols of using crime victims as a “cudgel” in order to advance his Courts and Tribunals Bill reforms. She demanded that the justice system be altered, and her case came to stand as an illustration of the delays that survivors endure.
The Crown Prosecution Service said the case was dropped because of insufficient evidence, and the woman’s case was dropped because of court delays.
The charity’s backing
The charity’s chief executive, Ciara Bergman, described the measures as a “significant step forward”, noting they responded to several reforms that Rape Crisis England and Wales had been requesting for many years.
The decision follows an announcement earlier in the year from the government that rape victims would get access to specialist legal advice throughout the entire criminal justice process.
| Measure | What it does | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Trial dates | Fixed dates for each trial | From next month |
| Courtrooms | One courtroom per crown court | Over next two years |
| Staff training | Court staff receive “trauma-informed” training | Not yet specified |
| Survivor access | Survivors can view proceedings remotely | As soon as courtrooms are set up |
The £23m is being drawn from the Ministry of Justice’s budget. Beyond the funding allocated for training and court set-up, the government has not detailed how the money will be spent.
The £23m commitment signals a real change, and the fixed dates mark a meaningful shift for survivors who have waited too long. The video links and private rooms will ease the process for them. The training and contact person are practical steps that add real value.
No verdict has yet been reached on the case that Nichols dropped, and the woman who walked away from her case last year still waits for one. The system has let her down, and the government’s promise has yet to be realized.
It is welcome news. The matter illustrates how much it still needs to advance.
Source material: “Specialist courts for rape cases to be rolled out across England and Wales,” the BBC.
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