Netflix removes After Life producer Charlie Hanson from show following sexual misconduct allegations, with Ricky Gervais saying he is "shocked and appalled".
Malthouse told parliament on Tuesday that the review had consulted survivors and relevant organisations formed part of its “engagement panel”. He added that Emily Hunt, a campaigner and survivor of sexual assault, had been appointed as an expert adviser.
But sources told the Guardian that the full stakeholder reference group, which has about 20 voluntary-sector members, has met six times, for one hour over the past two years. A parliamentary question from September last year revealed the group had, at that point, met three times. Other meetings had been held separately with different members of the group, but one key member of the group said “weeks and months went by where we heard nothing”. Hunt had been employed as an adviser only late last year, said one source – more than a year and a half after the launch of the review.
In shocking stats, published by the
Guardian this week, rape convictions fell to a record low in 2020, down almost two-thirds on 2016-17. The report, an analysis of Home Office figures seen by the newspaper, revealed that ‘fewer than one in 60 rape cases recorded by the police last year resulted in a suspect being charged’. It’s 2021 and we’re
slowly getting better at talking about rape, thanks in part to initiatives like #metoo and the Million Women Rise march. But for every forward step, the statistics around sexual violence remain bleak – and things are actually getting worse.
The figures are stark – there were 52,210 rapes recorded by police in England and Wales in 2020, only 843 resulted in a charge or a summons – a rate of 1.6%. Undoubtedly, these low rape charges and conviction figures will put pressure on the government to radically overhaul the treatment of rape by the criminal justice system. Commissioned two years ago, there is high hopes for hugely-anti
Analysis: As prosecutions plummet, campaigners express doubts as to whether the upcoming review will make a difference
Protest poster against rape culture outside a school in south London. Rape prosecutions have plummeted 71% from 2016-17 to 2020. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian
Protest poster against rape culture outside a school in south London. Rape prosecutions have plummeted 71% from 2016-17 to 2020. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian
Sun 23 May 2021 13.00 EDT
The failure of the criminal justice system in England and Wales to survivors of rape is nothing new – for at least five years women’s groups, lawyers, charities and victims have said with increasing urgency that the system is broken.