Sexual assault victims have been"retraumatised" by their dealings with the criminal justice system, according to Scotland's second most senior judge.justice system treats rape cases has made a series of recommendations, including the setting up of a specialist court to deal with all serious sexual offences.
The review, which also suggests cases could be heard by a single judge and without a jury, is being led by Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian as part of a shake-up of the Scottish court system.Speaking to Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Lady Dorrian said those conducting the review thought the system needed improving so victims found their experience of reporting rape"less traumatic".
"Some of the accounts we had was that people felt retraumatised after their experience with the criminal justice system - we found that difficult to hear," she said."Clearly that is not the intention and we had to listen to that and find a way of creating a system that doesn't do that." The problem is not just limited to Scotland, as fewer than one in six female victims of sexual assault in England and Wales reported it to the police.