RAPE survivors in Britain continue to be failed by the justice system two years on from the government’s commitment to address the problem, a report found today.

In the End-to-End Rape Review, which arose after rape prosecutions dropped to the lowest rate on record in 2020, the government acknowledged that victims are being failed, apologised, and committed to a series of actions to address the problem by June 2023.

But a report by the Centre for Women’s Justice, the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), Imkaan and Rape Crisis England & Wales, found that only marginal progress had been made.

Charging, prosecution and conviction rates still fall short of the government’s own targets, the report found.

It noted that there is ongoing failure to better understand who does and does not access the criminal justice system and further investigate the experiences of black and minoritised victim-survivors.

There is also a lack of political commitment to preventing rape and sexual abuse in the first place and exploring what victims and survivors want to support their recovery, it said.

The groups called on the government to use the Victims and Prisoners Bill to introduce much-needed reforms, including new protections for victims’ therapy records, the provision of independent legal advice and a firewall between statutory services and immigration enforcement.

They also urged for ministers to “look beyond the justice system” and commit to  prioritisation and investment in work to prevent rape and sexual abuse.

EVAW director Andrea Simon said: “Despite acknowledging the need to overhaul police culture, the government has handed the police more powers which can be abused, and made ongoing threats to the Human Rights Act and our access to the European Court of Human Rights.

“These are both vital mechanisms for accountability for victims and survivors — women’s rights are human rights.

“We believe a different world is possible — a society in which women and girls can live their lives free from the threat of violence.

“In order to make that a reality, we desperately need more focus on the prevention of rape, with efforts to tackle the societal structures, norms and inequalities which underpin sexual violence.”

Imkaan said that race and ethnicity remains one of the very biggest gaps in police data, and called for better understanding of how inequalities manifest through research.