Under the reforms, announced last week, the defence will no longer be allowed to use as evidence previous allegations of rape made by the victim unless proven genuinely valuable. A higher admissibility threshold will be introduced for evidence concerning the sexual history of the victim. Judges will be required to consider that the use of such evidence may perpetuate rape myths.
The reforms implement Law Commission proposals set out in its 621-page July paper, ‘Evidence in sexual offences prosecutions: a final report’.
These include introducing an enhanced relevance threshold where the defence wishes to produce evidence of the victim’s previous criminal injuries compensation. In its report, the Law Commission stated: ‘When this evidence is introduced, there is a risk that jurors may be influenced by the misconception that sexual offence allegations are often fabricated, and are often fabricated for financial gain.’
Other reforms will clarify when courts can exclude intimidating individuals from the public gallery, enshrine in law the court’s power to edit pre-recorded evidence to make it suitable for use in proceedings, and clarify the role of screens to shield witnesses from the defendant when giving evidence.
Brett Dixon, vice president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: ‘The law on admitting evidence of the complainant’s previous sexual history, criminal injuries claims and “bad character” required reform which we support.
‘While improving the experience of complainants is essential, it is equally important that any reforms also uphold defendants’ fair trial rights. The Law Commission carefully balanced these rights in its report and we will review the government’s proposals to assess how this crucial balance is affected.’
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