Challenging criminal justice? Psychosocial disability and rape victimization

In a context in which research evidence indicates high rates of alleged sexual victimization among adults with psychosocial disabilities, this article draws upon rape allegation data collected by the Metropolitan Police Service in April and May 2012, to explore some of the challenges that are posed to the criminal justice system by these types of complainants. Although the insights that can be generated from these data in relation to complainants with psychosocial disabilities are limited, in the context of this article it provides a valuable snapshot into contemporary patterns of rape victimization and attrition in England and Wales. It also serves as a useful stepping off point from which to highlight the need for more sustained critical research and reflection on the treatment of complainants, and the adequacy of police and prosecutor training and practice in this area

Complaints of rape and the criminal justice system: Fresh evidence on the attrition problem in England and Wales

The UK has one of the lowest conviction rates for rape in Europe. This article presents unique evidence on the factors that influence the attrition of rape allegations in the English criminal justice system. The study is based on a large, representative sample of rape allegations reported to the London Metropolitan Police, the UK’s biggest police force. The dataset contains unprecedented detail on the incident, victim, suspect and police investigation. The results lend support to the influence of some rape myths and stereotypes on attrition. These findings suggest that further central factors include the ethnicity of the suspect as well as what police officers and prosecutors perceive as evidence against the truthfulness of the allegation: the police record noting a previous false allegation by the victim, inconsistencies in the victim’s account of the alleged rape, and evidence or police opinion casting doubt on the allegation

Domestic abuse prevention after Raoul Moat

This article charts the development of domestic abuse policy between May 2010 and June 2011, a period in which: the UK witnessed a high profile domestic abuse case – that of Raoul Moat – pass almost with¬out recognition as such; whilst the dismantling of much of the infra¬structure used to prevent domestic abuse outside the criminal justice system commenced, in anticipation of cost-cutting reform designated necessary to the advent of the ‘Big Society’. The article uses both the research literature on domestic abuse and the case of Raoul Moat to argue that preventative work in this field needs to keep issues of gender – especially masculinity – in the political frame. This focus on masculinity should not, however, be reduced merely to attitudes accepting of violence or macho values, but should, the article argues, also keep the relationships between violence, emotional dependency, heterosexual propriety, and life crises in view. The article queries whether the Coalition government’s focus on ‘payback’, ‘discipline’ in schools and the ‘sexualization of children’ is likely to help more than hinder in this regard, and points to the real risks entailed in economic restructuring that increases the proportion of women and children vulnerable to repeat victimization