Sexual Offecnes: Victims
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of the treatment of British victims of sexual assault in the US military court martial system during proceedings regarding offences committed on UK soil by US service personnel.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson
The recent case in Cambridgeshire is clearly extremely concerning, and I extend my sympathy to the victim. Where an offence is committed in England and Wales, under the Victims’ Code all victims have the right to seek support from available victim support services to help them cope and recover from the impact of a crime. This is still true even if that offence is then not prosecuted in the England and Wales criminal justice system.
Where an offence is reported to a police force in England and Wales, the victim has the right to be referred to support services directly. If they choose not to report the crime, or report it to another jurisdiction, such as the military police, they would be able to self-refer to victim support services.
This Government is committed to making sure all victims know about their rights under the Victims’ Code. This includes through a public awareness campaign, and through placing a new duty on criminal justice agencies to promote the code with service users and the public, which we will commence in due course.
The Ministry of Justice is investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →