Only one rape victim in 30 sees their attacker brought to justice in UK

Less than one rape victim in 30 can expect to see her or his attacker brought to justice in the UK, shocking new statistics have revealed.

According to the new research by the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and the Office for National Statistics, only 1,070 rapists are convicted every year, despite up to 95,000 people suffering the trauma of rape.

The figures have reignited controversy over the stubbornly low rates of conviction for sex crimes, as well as the difficulties in persuading victims to go to police in the first place, the Independent reports.

Although 90 percent of rape victims said they knew the identity of their attacker, just 15 percent went to the police, telling researchers it was "too embarrassing", "too trivial" or a "private/family matter".

According to the report, between 60,000 and 95,000 people are estimated to be raped each year.

About one woman in 200 told researchers she had fallen victim in the previous 12 months, suggesting that between 54,000 and 85,000 women were raped over the year. Nearly 7,000 men are also raped every year.

An average of 15,670 rapes are reported annually to police, less than one-quarter of which result in a suspect being identified.

Many of those are not brought to court as hundreds of women drop out at this point as they cannot face the ordeal of giving evidence against her attacker.

According to the report, prosecutions are mounted against 2,910 individuals, resulting in the convictions of 1,070 rapists who committed an average of 2.3 offences each. The figures suggest that just one major sex crime in 38 leads to a conviction for the offence.

Around one in 20 women aged below 60 also said she has been raped or seriously sexually assaulted in her lifetime, equivalent to more than 800,000 victims, the report added.

ALSO READ

US horrified by reports of Syria massacre

Agent in America raises funds for Imran's party, sends over $7 lakh

Texting while driving?

Violence grips Bangladesh as Islamists demand stricter blasphemy law