(Newcastle
upon Tyne Central) (Lab): Rape is a violent and devastating crime,
putting enormous pressure on its victims, who may view the trial of
their rapist as a second violation. Across the north-east, rape
victims are waiting months and months for their trials to start and
Northumbria police and crime commissioner Kim
McGuinnesstells me that that is putting enormous strain on
their mental health. What support is the Minister providing,
specifically to victim support organisations such as the sexual
exploitation hub in my constituency, and what is he doing to make
sure that more trials can take place?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (): The hon. Lady is absolutely right to raise this
point, and I am grateful to her for doing so. We take this
extremely seriously. Of the £76 million that we allocated to
victims’ organisations, a full £20 million was rolled out through
PCCs to provide the community support that she refers to, but
that did not emerge from a clear blue sky. We were also providing
money for independent sexual violence advisers to support victims
as they progress through the criminal justice system. The
critical thing is to keep the courts going during this pandemic.
That is what we are doing when others might not have done, and we
are proud of what Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is
providing.
