Solicitor general visits Leeds as key scheme to support sexual abuse survivors expands to West Yorkshire

The solicitor general visited Leeds this week as the Victim’s Right to Review has been expanded to the region.

Ellie Reeves MP - the sister of Leeds MP and chancellor Rachel Reeves - met with staff at the “fantastic” honour-based abuse charity Karma Nirvana on Tuesday (March 10) to discuss the work that they do with victims.

During her visit, Mrs Reeves explained that her “number one priority” in the senior government role, which supports the government’s legal department, was to tackle the rise of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

As part of that commitment, the Government has expanded its Victim’s Right to Review scheme to Leeds and West Yorkshire, meaning that rape and sexual assault survivors now have the right to ask for their cases to be reviewed before a final decision to offer no evidence is made.

Explaining the rollout, Mrs Reeves said: “When someone is a victim of rape or serious sexual violence and charges are brought, if the crime prosecution service (CPS) reviews the case and thinks that there is no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction in court they have to offer no evidence and that ends the case.

“If the victim thinks the case should be continued with there’s nothing they can do at that stage.

“Under this rollout, victims will be able to have a second prosecutor reviewing the case before a decision is made to stop the case, which gives victims much more of a voice and gets the best chance of getting justice.”

She said that she has made Violence Against Women and Girls her “number one priority” as the matter had “reached epidemic levels”, adding: “It’s totally unacceptable that women don’t feel safe in their homes and on the streets, and that has to end.”

In December, a cross-party initiative was launched that covers all departments, and £20m has been invested in introducing prevention measures in schools, health, housing and online.

Ms Reeves said: “That helps with prevention, but we also need to make sure perpetrators are gone after. That’s why we’ve introduced domestic abuse protection orders and located specialists in 999 call centres.

“As solicitor general I oversee the work of the CPS and I’m determined that we drive up standards. We’ve introduced an enhanced service for victims of rape and serious sexual violence. They have access to a victim liaison officer embedded into CPS teams as well as the offer of a pre-trial meeting before their case gets to trial.”

She added that it is “really important” that victims of rape and serious sexual violence get the right support, saying: “It’s been neglected for far too long and that’s why we’re determined to tackle it.

“Our ambition is to half Violence Against Women and Girls within a decade and we’ve set out our cross government strategy for doing that.”

As part of her visit to Karma Nirvana, which runs the national helpline to support people facing honour based abuse, Ms Reeves spoke with those receiving calls from victims as well as teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals who are seeking advice.

The charity’s director Nathasha Rattu, said that the visit had been “really positive”, adding: “There’s a real absence in the criminal justice process of experiences around honour based abuse because less than 2 per cent of cases that make it to the police end up in a successful prosecution or conviction.

“There’s a concern that for a while this has been an ongoing trend and it’s something we’re keen for the minister’s office to look into to because those victims won’t feel there experiences are represented in the process.”

Ms Rattu added that the charity has been pushing for a legal definition of ‘honour based abuse’ to be established to help with convictions.

She said: “That is the foundation upon which we can build more work because we’re using a universal definition for what it is.

“It’s really sad that, despite Karma Nirvana being around for 30 years, we still don’t have a legal definition until 2026.

“We have done great work but there’s still lots more that needs to be done.”