A gap or a chasm? - National Police Library Online Catalogue

A gap or a chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases
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‘marital rape’ is often extremely brutal, with one-third being termed ‘sadistic’, and the
majority of women being raped ‘frequently’ i.e. more than 20 times. Only one-third defined
these incidents as rape at the time, and only half of this group immediately separated. Re-
definition occurred when: the assaults reached a level of brutality associated with stranger
rape; the woman accessed support; and/or she separated. Overlaps between rape and
domestic violence have received limited attention in either research or policy development
(an exception is Walby and Allen, 2004). This overlap however clearly deserves greater
exploration, not least with respect to the protection issues victims may need addressing in
order to sustain a prosecution, and the finding that women who kill abusive partners are
much more likely to have been subjected to repeated sexual violence (see, for example,
Jones, 1980).
Summary
● Home Office data on re p o rted rape cases in England and Wales show a
continuing and unbroken increase in re p o rting to the police over the past two
decades, but a relatively static number of convictions, thus the increasing justice
gap.
● Prosecuted cases involving children were more likely to result in conviction than
those involving adults.
● All UK studies of attrition in rape cases concur that the highest proportion of cases
are lost at the earliest stages, with between half and two-thirds dropping out at
the investigative stage, and withdrawal by complainants one of the most
important elements.
● A number of studies have found high rates of ‘no criming’, not limited to the
official guidelines for this category.
● R e s e a rch on attrition in Europe shows that a decline in the pro p o rtion of
prosecutions and convictions was a common trend, although only Ireland had a
lower conviction rate than the UK.
● R e s e a rch to date has identified four key points at which attrition occurs: the
decision to re p o rt itself; the police investigative stage; discontinuance by
p rosecutors; and at trial. Victim withdrawals can occur at each stage but the
highest proportion is evident at the first two points.