Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

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Chapter Four:Women Need Justice - Women as Victims of Crimeand monitoring within each of the courts and the sharing ofbest practice. Criminal Justice Boards should put in placemechanisms for this monitoring, if responsibility for theSDVCs is devolved to criminal justice boards by the CPS asplanned.Despite these improvements, the current conviction rate of68.9% of domestic violence cases recorded by the CPS isstill well below the national average of 85.1% for all casesprosecuted. 152 65.4 percent of DV cases brought to theCPS by police in 2007-8 were charged for prosecutionbut there are still significant numbers of domestic violencecases being discontinued after charge. In 2007-08, 27.9percent of cases were dropped, with 21.2 percent of DVvictims retracting their statements. 153Forced Marriage and Honour-based ViolenceSince the previous report of the Commission there havebeen some important developments in relation to forcedmarriage and honour based violence and a growing numberof cases are being reported. The UK’s joint Foreign &Commonwealth and Home Office Forced Marriage Unit,which was launched in January 2005, dealt with morethan 1,300 cases during the first three quarters of 2008– an increase of 79 percent on 2007. Further, the ForcedMarriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 came into force on 25November 2008 and provides injunctive relief and damagesfor victims.The CPS carried out a pilot in four CPS areas over ninemonths in 2007-08 in which 35 cases were identified. 154This pilot, despite being limited to a small number of cases,revealed patterns including that the defendant was malein all cases; the victims were equally likely to be maleor female and that it was not unusual for honour-basedviolence to occur outside a domestic violence situation. 155A number of key recommendations for future workwere made as a result of this pilot including the need forspecialist prosecutors and leads, mandatory training forselected prosecutors, sharing of best practice, and multiagencywork especially with the police. 156The Commission welcomes the work of the CPS in thisarea. However, it is important that this initial pilot is followedthrough with the recommended future work, particularlyin relation to training and multi-agency working. The pilotfindings also noted the need for specific support servicesfor victims, with victim and witness difficulties responsiblefor the majority of unsuccessful outcomes of the small pilotsample. This support needs to extend beyond the criminaljustice system to the provision of housing, welfare benefitsand publicly funded services such as refuges for victimsfacing forced marriage.TraffickingAs of December 2008, there had been 92 convictions fortrafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation under theSexual Offences Act and four convictions for traffickingfor labour exploitation. 157 On 17 December 2008, thegovernment ratified the Council of Europe ConventionAgainst Human Trafficking. This is a significant step, withthe Convention setting minimum standards for protectingand supporting trafficking victims. It is important that thegovernment takes its obligations under the Conventionseriously, particularly in relation to the support given tovictims. Currently less than one in ten local authorities hassupport services for women in prostitution. 158This report has already discussed the growing problemin relation to the criminalisation of migrant women whoare trafficked into the UK. However, in relation to theprosecution of trafficking offences, the vulnerability of thesewomen, and often their families, also needs to be taken intoaccount. Eaves told the Commission of at least one case ofa woman trafficked into the United Kingdom who had familymembers in her country of origin seriously injured as a resultof her giving evidence to the police. 159 The Commissionwas also concerned to learn that there appears to be areluctance to pursue charges relating to trafficking fordomestic servitude or labour exploitation when defendantsare of a high status or wealthy, such as diplomats, whereissues of diplomatic immunity also arise. A coordinatedapproach between the police, CPS and the SeriousOrganised Crime Agency (SOCA) is needed to address this.Specialist teams with appropriate training and specificknowledge of trafficking issues and the needs of victimshave the potential to make an impact and create confidencein the justice system. For example, the Metropolitan PoliceHuman Trafficking Team was described to the Commissionas excellent due to their awareness of trafficking issues,willingness to take on board advice about women’s needs,Page 56
continued commitment to joint working with organisationssuch as the Poppy Project and their support of women aftertrial. 160The CPS has begun work with the UK Human TraffickingCentre to analyse data on these crimes. It is not anticipatedthat consideration will be given to extending the CPSVAW indicator to the crime of trafficking until 2011-12.As at December 2008, there were no systems in placeto measure the prosecution outcomes for prostitutionand trafficking. 161 The Commission recommends thatdata collection is finalised and the CPS VAW indicator isextended to trafficking by 2011, so that this measure is inplace prior to the 2012 Olympics. International evidencesuggests that demand for the sex industry can increasesignificantly around major sporting events. The Olympicsalso offers an opportunity to engage with men and boys onthe issue of commercial sexual exploitation.Good Practice Example: The Poppy ProjectThe Poppy Project’s primary aim is to provide support andaccommodation for women who have been trafficked intoprostitution in the U.K . The project, established in 2003,provides accommodation and support services for up to35 women in London, through the Eaves network. Theproject also provides an Outreach Service which assistswomen in need of short term support and advocacy aswell as working to ensure the safety and well-being ofwomen who have been trafficked throughout the U.K. ThePoppy Project also works to raise awareness of the issuesof trafficking and prostitution through education, trainingand lobbying.Website: http://www.eaves4women.co.uk/POPPY_Project/POPPY_Project.phpLegal AidThe Commission remains concerned about the provisionof legal aid in VAW cases when women are seekinginjunctive relief. The cost of an injunction is beyond theremit of most vulnerable individuals. Rights of Womentold the Commission that access to legal advice was amajor problem for women, either because they were noteligible to receive legal aid or more frequently, becausethey cannot access a solicitor in their area. Injunctive reliefis needed immediately, but often women have to wait twoweeks for an appointment. 162 Further, while women whohave experienced domestic violence are exempt from therequirement to undergo third party mediation in order toaccess legal aid, the automatic exemption does not applywhere there have not been criminal investigations or civilproceedings against a violent partner in the precedingtwelve months. In these circumstances a solicitor mustconsider mediation which may have serious safety andsecurity implications for already vulnerable women. 163The Commission is also concerned about the inadequateprovision of legal aid in complicated VAW cases. Forexample, forced marriage situations, trafficking anddomestic violence cases where there are immigration issuesare often complex and in some instances the victim willrequire a translator to communicate with the solicitor. Inmost cases, the time limited legal aid, which has resultedfrom cuts to legal aid over the last few years, will be entirelyinadequate.The Courts andthe JudiciaryOnce solicitors and barristers were involved it was hell.It was a game to them…Most charges were dropped/negotiated or something. 164Evidence presented to the Commission painted a pictureof a court system which remains a difficult experience forwomen victims. As one victim described:I was questioned for hours and it really was horrendous…Irealised that it will always be difficult to prove evidenceeither way with a rape case, but I don’t see why I had tosuffer so much in court, being accused of this, that and allthe while people stared at me to work out whether I was aliar or not. 165Special Measures, such as screening the witness offfrom the accused, giving evidence by live televisionlinks, excluding people from the courtroom and allowingwitnesses to give evidence-in-chief by pre-recordedinterviews, need to be more widely publicised and utilisedPage 57
Page 1 and 2:
Engendering Justice- from Policy to
Page 3 and 4:
ContentsForeword 5Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6: ForewordFor the past five years, Fa
Page 7 and 8: Executive SummarySince 2003, Fawcet
Page 10 and 11: Executive Summary continuedon domes
Page 12 and 13: Executive Summary continuedFemale O
Page 14 and 15: Chapter One: Continued.Methodology
Page 16 and 17: The Five Years of the CommissionCom
Page 18 and 19: Chapter Two:Introduction - From Pol
Page 20 and 21: Chapter Three:Women and Justice - M
Page 23 and 24: [A woman] had admitted to an offenc
Page 25 and 26: Figure 3: Female Reoffending Rate b
Page 27 and 28: writing the Government had undertak
Page 29 and 30: equirement could be used to refer w
Page 31 and 32: given current funding allocations a
Page 33 and 34: I feel that women with severe menta
Page 35 and 36: Good Practice Example: Birth Compan
Page 37 and 38: Female offenders serving indetermin
Page 39 and 40: The Commission recommends that if p
Page 41 and 42: Moving TowardsCommunity ProvisionTh
Page 43 and 44: which can be developed in conjuncti
Page 45 and 46: Chapter Four:Women Need Justice - W
Page 47 and 48: that VAW is a relevant issue for ev
Page 49 and 50: Women also need to have clear infor
Page 51 and 52: Victims reported telling their stor
Page 53 and 54: However, Rights of Women told the C
Page 55: in the decision-making process is l
Page 59 and 60: It is also important for the CPS to
Page 61 and 62: He pleaded innocent, so I prepared
Page 63 and 64: isk assessments are not uniform. In
Page 65 and 66: espect and sexual violence is a com
Page 67 and 68: different needs and experiences of
Page 69 and 70: managers. “Sometimes childcare is
Page 71 and 72: local area, with women who have rea
Page 73 and 74: her career, as these women may find
Page 75 and 76: The key issue in my view is that th
Page 77 and 78: Some magistrates noted that they fe
Page 79 and 80: for women to access development opp
Page 81 and 82: Organisations sharing their views w
Page 83 and 84: Institutional change needed:➤ A c
Page 85 and 86: International example of good pract
Page 87 and 88: ➤ The Criminal JusticeSystem will
Page 89 and 90: Key targets / indicators of success
Page 91 and 92: ➤ Women working inthe criminal ju
Page 93 and 94: Key targets / indicators of success
Page 95 and 96: ➤ Policy and practiceof all crimi
Page 97 and 98: ➤The Judiciary and thesenior leve
Page 99 and 100: Appendix ACOMMISSIONERS:Baroness Je
Page 101 and 102: Annexure BSummary of Recommendation
Page 103 and 104: not be means tested.• First night
Page 105 and 106: in circumstances where the Prosecut
Page 107 and 108:
• Allocation to a particular cour
Page 109 and 110:
EndnotesMarch 200985Questionnaire R
Page 111:
About FawcettThe Fawcett Society is
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