Sarah Hooper
Published December 3, 2025 1:01pm
Updated December 3, 2025 1:01pm
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The newest reforms are part of Labour’s ‘Plan for Change’ (Picture: Getty)
The British government is making crucial reforms to help aid rape victims during their trials by stamping out rape myths and attempting to restore faith in the justice system.
As part of the Plan for Change, which aims to halve violence against women and girls in ten years, victims of rape and serious sexual violence will receive greater support and will no longer be vilified by previous experiences of sexual violence.
To clamp down on rape myths and make sure victims are believed, previous allegations of rape made by the victim will not be used as evidence in favour of the accused unless proven genuinely valuable.
A new, higher admissibility threshold will also apply to divulging the sexual history of the victim – something which causes further emotional harm and distracts from the real issue at hand.
The changes come after research from the former Victims’ Commissioner found that nearly 60% of rape victims believed they wouldn’t get justice.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: ‘Far too many victims of rape are dropping out of the system because they feel that they are the ones on trial. This has enabled vile rapists to evade the punishment they deserve for far too long.
Lammy said the justice system needs to be rebalanced (Picture: AFP)
‘This must stop. We must rebalance the justice system to serve victims first and foremost, and that starts with the crucial reforms we’re bringing forward today.’
The government will also attempt to improve victims’ experiences during sexual offence trials.
Previous compensation claims for crime victims will have higher admissibility thresholds, to help prevent already distressed victims from being branded ‘money-motivated’.
And, previous convictions for domestic abuse will now be able to be used at trial for other domestic abuse offences.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women's Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at [email protected].
Read more:
- Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro's year-long violence against women campaign
- Remembering the women killed by men in 2024
The move was praised by the Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, Alex Davies-Jones.
Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, Alex Davies-Jones, praised the move (Picture: PA)
‘Facing their rapist at trial is already one of the most difficult things a victim will ever have to do. The vast majority of these victims are brave women and girls who just want to be believed,’ she said.
‘The very least they can expect is not to be demonised for their experiences or made a spectacle of in the courtroom.’
A spokesperson for End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), Imkaan, and Rape Crisis England & Wales, said: ‘We are pleased to see the government’s intention to prevent survivors having unrelated trauma used against them inappropriately in court.
‘Experiencing rape or sexual violence should never be treated as ‘bad character’ or reduced to someone’s ‘sexual history’. Yet for too long, victims and survivors have been forced to navigate a system where poor treatment has become almost routine. This is simply unacceptable.’
Finally, an additional £550 million investment to help victims access support and advice will be made.
Less than 3% of rapes end with charges – what is being done?
Earlier this year, Metro revealed that out of 215,000 reported rapes in the UK, only a tiny fraction end up with a suspect charged.
According to Freedom of Information data given exclusively to Metro, there have been 206,927 rape reports of women aged over 16 over the past five years.
Shockingly, only 6,374 women have seen their suspected attacker charged, with only 240 men saying the same – a rate of just 2.97%.
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Many victims don’t press charges. Of those identified as suspects, 56,625 women and 2,500 men chose not to support further action.
Chief Constable Sarah Crew, national policing lead for rape and adult sexual offences, reported that, ‘All 43 police forces in England and Wales have signed up to Operation Soteria, a transformational approach to rape and sexual offences investigation.’
Operation Soteria has seen policing open its doors to scrutiny from independent academics to look at the way police investigate rape.
Chf Con Crew added: ‘We are facing this directly, transparently and uncompromisingly. This process is not easy, but it is vital.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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