In a landmark move, the government has unveiled sweeping legal reforms designed to protect rape victims in England and Wales from being depicted as "serial liars" during trials. Justice Secretary David Lammy announced the changes, which he described as the most significant shake-up in a generation for how victims experience the courts.
Ending a 'Profound Injustice' in Courtrooms
Lammy stated that the new measures will halt the "profound injustice" of victims being questioned, often without prior warning, about previous rapes they have reported to the police. He argued that too many survivors leave the criminal justice process feeling as though they were the ones on trial, with defence barristers using sensitive details from past relationships and abuse to undermine their credibility.
"That is a profound injustice, and it has driven far too many women and girls out of the justice system altogether," Lammy said. "This must stop, and our new reforms will ensure that survivors are not demonised for the abuse they have suffered."
The reforms come alongside a separate announcement that jury trials will be scrapped for cases where sentences are likely to be less than three years.
Key Changes in the New Legislation
Under the forthcoming laws, several key protections will be introduced:
- Ban on 'Bad Character' Evidence: Evidence related to a victim's past sexual history or abuse will be prohibited, unless lawyers possess concrete evidence that a complainant has previously lied about such matters.
- Restrictions on Past Claims: Questions about previous compensation claims for experiences of crime will also be banned under similar conditions.
- Easier Introduction of Defendant History: The changes will make it simpler for prosecuting barristers to introduce "bad character" evidence about defendants in domestic abuse cases. New legislation, expected before parliament next year, will allow any prior domestic abuse offence—even against a different victim—to be admissible in court.
These measures follow a government pledge of £550m in funding for victim support, aimed at formalising special measures like companions for victims, the use of courtroom screens, and pre-recorded evidence.
A System Under Strain and a Survivor's Story
The reform is urgently needed to bolster faith in a system Lammy has warned is on the "brink of total collapse." Official projections indicate the Crown Court backlog could exceed 105,000 cases by March 2029, with some trials now being listed as far ahead as 2030. Victims of rape, who can wait up to four years for a court date, are abandoning trials in record numbers; an analysis shows victims and witnesses abandoned five times more cases in 2024 than before the pandemic.
The human cost of current practices was highlighted by Penelope*, a survivor who described being ambushed in court. While giving evidence in a coercive control case against her ex-partner, his barrister unexpectedly questioned her about childhood sexual abuse inflicted by her father.
"I just absolutely froze, and I didn't really know what to do," she said. "I asked the judge 'do I need to answer this?' and she just told me to answer the question." Her ex-partner was acquitted, and she hopes the new law will spare others such "horrendous" experiences.
Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for violence against women and girls, called the shake-up a cornerstone of the government's mission to halve violence against women within a decade. "This is probably the biggest [change] in how victims experience trials for a generation," she stated.
Professor Katrin Hohl, the government's independent adviser on sexual violence, welcomed the move, noting it would keep the focus where it belongs. When asked if current laws contained misogynistic elements, she replied, "Parts of it, yes. For example, this practice." She added that the reform acknowledges some laws are "shaped by myth and misconceptions."
Campaigners have widely praised the initiative. Maxime Rowson of Rape Crisis England and Wales expressed hope that, if implemented well, the law would end the practice of women being "undermined and cross-examined on irrelevant and unrelated past experiences."
