Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

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Chapter Four:Women Need Justice - Women as Victims of Crimefor vulnerable victims. Facilities are being put into placeto allow for these measures. For example, video links arenow available in 75 percent of Magistrates’ Courts and allCrown Court centres. Witness Liaison officers have alsobeen introduced in all courts. 166 However, because specialmeasures are not automatic and have to be applied for,vulnerable witnesses often do not receive special measures.Victim Support told the Commission that problemsoccur for two main reasons – vulnerable and intimidatedwitnesses are not identified (initially by the Police or laterby the Witness Care Unit) and measures are not appliedfor on time resulting in the application not being granted ornot being available at the relevant court. Cases were alsonoted of CPS prosecutors and barristers trying to dissuadevictims and witnesses from utilising special measures onthe basis that they decrease the power of testimony. Nothaving access to these measures or not knowing whethermeasures will be in place can result in additional anxiety anduncertainty for victims – the very impacts that the specialmeasures were introduced to lessen. 167 The CPS needs towork to develop an approach to special measures which ismore consistent and reliable.I went to look around the court but was not given muchinformation. I asked to have screens put up and phonedthree times to check that this would be done…when thecourt date came the paperwork was missing so I had togive evidence without any screens. 168Rape Victim, Questionnaire Response, January 2009The Commission was also told that in cases of domesticviolence, special measures, such as the use of screens, areoften denied by Judges on the basis that the parties alreadyknow each other. As Victim Support told the Commission“This misses the point. In domestic violence situationsso much as a look from the perpetrator can devastatethe victim and make it extremely difficult for them to giveevidence.” 169 It demonstrates a failure of some judges tounderstand the dynamics of power and control.Good Practice Example: Use of Special MeasuresA woman who was a witness in a court case stronglywanted to see the man who had abused her beingsentenced, but was very afraid. Her SOIT asked the Courtto allow her to use a blocked off video link room so thatshe could observe the sentencing, but the perpetratorcould not see her. She felt that this gave her a strongsense of closure.Eaves, Questionnaire Response, February 2009Many female magistrates noted that delays and long waitingtimes for cases to be heard was a significant issue forwomen, particularly those with childcare obligations. Manysingle parents or parents without support from family andfriends have to bring their children to court. This createsadditional pressure on the parent worrying about theirchildren as well as the experience of giving evidence. Whilewitness accommodation has improved, with 90 percent ofMagistrates’ Courts and Crown Courts now having somekind of separate waiting area for victims and witnesses, thewaiting time in the same building as the perpetrator canbe very distressing for victims. The situation is particularlydifficult where cases are double-booked or listed as ‘floatingtrials’ requiring staying in the court building all day until acourtroom is allocated.The Commission recommends that where victims haveindicated that they have childcare problems, these casesshould not be double-booked or listed as ‘floating trials’and every effort should be made to fix the court date sothat childcare arrangements can be made.Many of the victims who shared their experiences with theCommission did not understand the Court process. As onewoman told the Commission:Even though I work in a university and am used toformalities I felt out of my depth in court. I did notunderstand who was who. I was not put in a witnessroom which I now know exists. I was kept waiting from9-12 and then told the court was breaking for lunch.All this time I was waiting to speak to the CPS to say Iwanted to drop charges. 170Page 58
It is also important for the CPS to make certain witnessesare provided with appropriate interpretation support ifneeded. Further, judges must ensure that witnesses are notdisadvantaged in court if they are communicating throughan interpreter. Eaves told the Commission that in traffickingcases, where women do not speak English as their firstlanguage and are communicating through an interpreter, thedefence often use this as a tool for their advantage. 171 Whilea Recorder commented:I find it quite shocking that even the basic preparationsuch as checking that a witness is able to give evidencewithout an interpreter does not take place. It is as if theydo not realise that a witness statement is garnered fromquestions put by a police officer not a free narrative. Awitness may be able to answer these questions but thecomplexity of cross-examination in a court room is adifferent matter entirely. 172The attitudes and skills of prosecutors were highlighted tothe Commission as a continuing problem. The Commissionwas told by Victim Support that they have found, onoccasion, that prosecutors in domestic violence or sexualviolence cases can be verbally aggressive to female victims.There is a need for advocates to be trained, not only inpolicies and procedures, but also in myths, stereotypes,and the likely distress and anxiety that victims are likelyto experience during court proceedings. This training isespecially necessary for barristers representing the Crownin sexual violence cases.I also had a terrible barrister, who failed to let me put mythoughts forward and didn’t really question the defendantproperly. I only met with him for about five minutes beforegiving evidence which I think is extremely unfair. Thedefendant had a fantastic barrister who he was able tochoose himself and who he got to see on numerousoccasions. I think that it is absolutely terrible that it ismeant to be a fair trial yet I didn’t have half the optionsthat he had…As a victim you need just as much protectionas the defendant but you are not given that. When givingevidence I felt I was on trial.Female rape victim, Questionnaire Response,January 2009Many of the victims, who shared their experiences of courtwith the Commission, were unhappy with the performanceof their barrister, particularly in comparison to the skills ofthe Defence barrister. Emphasis must be placed by theCPS on ensuring that barristers representing the Crownin sexual violence cases have the skills and aptitude topresent such complex cases. Barristers need to be able topresent a convincing narrative to the court which explainsthe behaviour of victims and inoculates against ‘toxicevidence’ presented by the Defence. This requires in-depthunderstanding of the realities of sexual violence. Training inthe complexities of cases of domestic and sexual violence,trafficking, forced marriage and honour based violence,such as the domestic violence e-learning product whichhas recently been developed for the bar by the CPS, shouldtherefore be a precondition before members of the bar canrepresent the Crown in these cases. Additionally, routinefeedback should be sought from victims and witnesses sothat any concerns regarding the performance of barristerscan be followed up by the CPS.The prosecuting barrister said very little and apparentlylooked bored and disinterested throughout the trial. Hewas male. The defence barrister was a female QC paidfor by the rapist’s wealthy parents. She raised her voiceto me and used vulgar expressions to describe a fictionalsex scene. She laughed at my responses. She madeinferences about my decision to get drunk and socialisewithout my boyfriend’s supervision. She told the jury I wascrying because my boyfriend was in the public gallery andhearing the ‘truth’ from her about what happened. Shewas very aggressive and the prosecution never objected,but the Judge did.Female rape victim, Questionnaire Response, January2009The extent to which jurors are affected by the myths andstereotypes surrounding gender-based violence, andparticularly sexual violence, remains of concern. Theseattitudes, which are explored in more detail later in thischapter, can impact on the assessment of the reliabilityof a witness. As Eaves told the Commission, the effectsof trauma upon memory recall result in women beingconsidered as ‘unreliable’ witnesses, because they mayhave trouble recalling dates or times or if there are minorinconsistencies between their statement and testimony.Page 59
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 and 56: in the decision-making process is l
Page 57: continued commitment to joint worki
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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Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

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