Draft Victims
Bill
The purpose of the draft Bill is to:
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● Put victims at the heart of the criminal justice
system, ensuring their experiences are front and centre of
the process and encouraging them to remain engaged in the
criminal justice system, enabling justice to be done and
making our communities safer.
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● Ensure we have an effective justice system that
serves society by restoring victims' confidence that their
voices will be properly heard and that perpetrators will be
brought to justice.
The main benefits of the draft Bill would be:
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● Improving the support victims receive in and beyond
the criminal justice system, particularly for victims of
sexual violence, domestic abuse and serious violence.
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● Holding agencies such as the police, Crown
Prosecution Service and HM Courts and Tribunals Service to
account for the service they provide to victims.
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● Providing clarity about what victims can and should
expect from the criminal justice system.
The main elements of the draft Bill are:
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● Enshrining the Victims’ Code in law.
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● Increasing transparency and oversight of the services
that criminal justice agencies provide to victims by granting
a greater role for Police and Crime Commissioners and
inspectorates to assess delivery.
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● Enabling improvements in the quality and consistency
of support services for victims of sexual violence, domestic
abuse and serious violence.
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● Elevating and increasing awareness of Independent
Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence
Advisors so that they can better work together with other
agencies to consistently meet the needs of victims.
Territorial extent and application
● The draft Bill will extend and apply to England and Wales.
Key facts
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● Victims who have received support from services such
as Independent Sexual Violence Advisors are nearly 50 per
cent less likely to withdraw from the criminal justice
process, compared to those who did not receive support.
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● Rape and serious sexual offences have high rates of
victims dropping out of the system. Between July and
September 2021, 45 per cent of sexual offences were assigned
a police outcome of ‘evidential difficulties – victim does
not support action’, the highest level since 2015-16.
