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As the number of abuse victims in England and Wales taking their own lives rises, pressure is mounting on coroners to acknowledge the role violence, control and coercion can play
Scottish Government plans for juryless rape trials are in chaos with Scotland's defence lawyers preparing to formally boycott taking part in any…
IN 2013, a woman known as Miss M was raped while on a night-out in Fife. Two years later, when her case was taken to a High Court trial, the jury reached a verdict of not proven. Recounting how she felt when this news was delivered, Miss M said: "It was an insult to the trauma I had been through and to the tenacity I had shown over the last two years … the not proven verdict felt like I had been given a life sentence.” Scotland is highly unusual in allowing juries to reach a not proven verdict in criminal trials. Dubbed “that bastard verdict” by Sir Walter Scott, it is often perceiv...