Written evidence to our inquiry highlighted concerns about the impact on victims, and particularly the serious impact that the backlog can have on victims’ work, family, and mental health and wellbeing.30 Academics from the Justice in COVID–19 for Sexual Abuse and Violence (JiCSAV) project noted that practitioners could provide examples of cases where victims had withdrawn from the prosecution process because of court delays.31 The FDA union told us that RASSO prosecutions took, on average, o...

Written evidence to our inquiry highlighted concerns about the impact on victims, and particularly the serious impact that the backlog can have on victims’ work, family, and mental health and wellbeing.30 Academics from the Justice in COVID–19 for Sexual Abuse and Violence (JiCSAV) project noted that practitioners could provide examples of cases where victims had withdrawn from the prosecution process because of court delays.31 The FDA union told us that RASSO prosecutions took, on average, over two years to come to trial.32 The Rape and Sexual Assault Counselling Centre (RSACC– based in Darlington and County Durham) said in their evidence th Type: conclusion | Number: 13 | Response status: partially_accepted Government response: 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2026 2.2 The volume and proportion of trials involving sexual offences that are ineffective is small relative to ineffective trial outcomes in other types of