Alexandra Topping for The Guardian
28th September 2018
Prosecutors in England and Wales were urged to take more risk-averse approach in rape cases
Lawyers for rape complainants “failed” by the criminal justice system are preparing to launch a legal challenge against the Crown Prosecution Service, the Guardian has learned.
The charity Centre for Women’s Justice is compiling evidence that the CPS has dropped cases with strong evidence, often at the last minute, according to lawyers.
Harriet Wistrich – who successfully represented two victims of serial rapist John Worboys in a recent human rights claim against the Metropolitan police– said the centre had a “small but growing dossier of cases” which she believed left the CPS exposed to legal challenge. The Guardian understands that a group of lawyers and experts on the issue of violence against women are meeting to discuss the legal challenge next week.
“We are hearing evidence from some women who have had their cases dropped, and you just wonder what on earth is going on” said Wistrich
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