Headlines in the Times[1] and the Daily Mail[2] quoting Harriet Wistrich as advocating the ditching of juries in rape trials is not accurate. Reference is made to an article published yesterday[3] by Catherine Baski for the Legal Action Group, where she discusses the crisis in the prosecution of rape within the criminal justice system:
Would she keep juries for rape trials? Her answer is controversial and bound to attract the ire of some defence lawyers. ‘My jury’s out on that one. I’m not sure – possibly not.
‘You could look at other options, possibly something akin to a discrimination panel, with a judge plus two specialist panel members who look at the facts and context and decide a case.’
Something like that, she suggests, might be fairer. ‘If you look at the way juries just do not convict young men, they just bring their own prejudices and views in too much,’ she says.
Harriet Wistrich today says:
"The reality is that statistics show a collapse in rape convictions, of those cases that are reported to the police only one in 65 result in a conviction. Prosecutors are only putting forward the very strongest of cases which means the vast majority of rape victims do not get justice. Statistics show that certain categories of defendants, including in particular, young men, are less likely to be convicted and certain categories of rape victims, including those that are intoxicated and those with mental illness are very unlikely to get justice. Many reforms have been made to improve the prospect of justice for rape victims but little has changed and one option might be to pilot alternatives to juries who continue to be subject to the very powerful rape myths and stereotypes that pervade our society."
www.centreforwomensjustice.org.uk/news/2019/10/8/press-release-should-juries-be-abolished-in-rape-trials-my-jury-is-out
Links to articles mentioned:
- www.thetimes.co.uk/article/axe-juries-biased-against-rape-victims-says-solicitor-wfmwk2t93
- www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7548481/Juries-abolished-rape-cases-lawyer-represented-women-attacked-John-Worboys-says.html
- www.lag.org.uk/?id=206977
This is something women's groups have been campaigning on for some time. I think there was a suggestion that juries for rape trials should undergo training first! Here is an article from last year www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/21/juries-rape-trials-myths-justice
I cant find the link but there was a study that showed that women on rape juries were more likely to believe the man, or rather think his life shouldn't be "ruined", that believe the woman alleging rape. Which links to this thread:www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3706089-Why-do-women-not-believe-other-women-Boris-Johnson-story