Crown Prosecution Service Violence against Women and Girls

Jude Watson Violence against Women and Girls

Strategy Manager

Crown Prosecution ServiceViolence against Women and Girls

●Ensuring a gendered understanding of crime and community-led approach in the 21st century

●Within the framework of the Code for Crown prosecutors.• Approach to gendered victimisation and gendered

pattern of certain offences;• Explore emerging cultural changes;• Focus on ensuring solutions are community-led.

United Nations Lead

● Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women, and … violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men.

● CPS - first government department to develop VAWG strategy and actions;

● Gendered crimes of domestic abuse; rape, sexual offences, harassment, forced marriage, FGM, honour based violence, prostitution, sexual trafficking and pornography.

Why did we group these crimes together?

● Equality Impact Assessment indicated these crimes were primarily, although not exclusively, carried out by men against women, often in context of gendered power and control;

● 2014-15 VAWG data – 93% perpetrators are men; 84% of victims are women;

● All policies are gender neutral and in monitoring the crimes we include data on female perpetrators and male victims.

Dividends

● 2014-15 highest volume across VAWG charged, prosecuted and convicted;

● Domestic abuse – 131% rise in convictions:• 29,719 convictions in 2005-06; • 68,601 in 2014-15 ; • Caseload risen from 11% in 2013-14 to 16% this year already;• Conviction rate rose from 46% in 2003 to 74% in 2014-15.

● Stalking - rise of 20% in harassment offences and 50% in stalking• 8,000 offences of harassment and stalking started prosecution; • over 11,000 on breaches of restraining orders – also a rise of 20%; and • over 6,000 on breaches of non-molestation orders that were related to

DA.

Cultural Shifts in Domestic Abuse

● The shift from seeing domestic abuse as a private matter;

● Measure 'success' to include the safety of victims and patterns of abuse that take away victims’ agency;

● Realising that, for the safety of the victim and any children, we may need to prosecute, if we have other evidence, even if they withdraw.

Cultural Shifts in Child Sexual Abuse

● Biggest cultural shifts are around rape, child sexual abuse and exploitation;

● Impact of famous cases;

● Vulnerabilities of many young victims and the way this led them to be targeted by abusers;

● Moved away from focusing on their lack of credibility to explaining the pattern of abuse and its impact.

Cultural Shifts in Rape

● An offender-centric approach: • addressing the credibility of the offender and

targeting patterns, and • balancing the focus of the case on the offender’s

behaviour, motives and reasons.

● 2015 guidance on addressing vulnerabilities in VAWG crimes - addressing exploitation of victims based on age, alcohol or drug misuse, mental health or learning disabilities.

● Focus on rape and consent

Rape and Consent

● Toolkits for police, prosecutors and advocates on consent, followed by training;

● Aspects of consent law – • Freedom,• Capacity, and • Our need to prove that a defendant did not have a

reasonable belief that the victim consented.

● #ConsentIs campaign• 12 million twitter users;• Campaign material seen over 45 million times.

Emerging Issues

● Social media and cyber crimes;

● Women’s Aid – 1/3 of direct threats online are carried out;

● Target through Facebook; false profiles;

● Sexualised pictures and messages – bribe young victims;

● Gang exploitation – selling drugs, sexual initiations.

● New laws on revenge and rape pornography; grooming and sexualised messaging

Community-led Solutions

● CPS VAWG external consultation group;

● CPS VAWG report published annually;

● CPS VAWG assurance scheme and Local Scrutiny and Involvement Panels;

● Training IDVAs;

● Victim Liaison Units;

● Victim’s Right to Review;

● Speaking to witnesses at court.

Future Steps● Cross–government 2015-2020 VAWG strategy;

● CPS actions:• Increased VAWG victim confidence, including for

vulnerable victims. • Improved victim satisfaction with the criminal

justice system.• Addressing VAWG cyber crimes.• Offender centric approaches and increased

successful outcomes. • Greater transparency and accountability through

continued improved data provision.