Skip to main content
Gifts from The Morning Star
Activists demand end of ‘not proven’ rape verdict
Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh

AHEAD of May’s Holyrood elections, Rape Crisis Scotland set out a list of demands yesterday, including that the government ends Scotland’s “not proven” verdict. 

The group said that the measures laid out in its Holyrood Asks document would bring real and lasting improvements for survivors of sexual violence in Scotland.

They said a key difference that could be made would be to remove the option of a “not proven” verdict in Scottish courts, which could be seen as an “easy way out” for jurors. 

The group would also like to see the legal right to anonymity for those accusing others of sex crimes be enshrined in law, as well as investment in rape prevention and specialist support services. 

Candidates have also been asked to back a call to protect every woman’s rights to safety, accommodation and support — no matter their immigration status.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf
Britain / 9 January 2022
9 January 2022
It is ‘unfathomable’ that staff are having to keep doors and windows open and ask pupils to layer up for a second winter, Scottish Teachers for Positive Change and Wellbeing says
Similar stories
Ash Regan on stage at Lauriston Hall in Edinburgh
Features / 27 June 2025
27 June 2025

Susan Galloway talks to ASH REGAN MSP about her “Unbuyable” Bill, seeking to tackle the commercial sexual exploitation of women in Scotland

The UK Supreme Court in Parliament Square, central London
Britain / 26 November 2024
26 November 2024
Kaukab Stewart MSP arrives for an SNP group meeting at the S
Features / 5 October 2024
5 October 2024
An independent review has condemned the rape crisis centre for failing to protect women or put survivors first. SUSAN GALLOWAY asks how it came to this
A woman showing signs of depression (picture posed by a mode
Britain / 11 September 2024
11 September 2024