As a detective chief inspector I can only concur with Judge James Tabor QC when he said last week: “One expects that they are often far more damaged when they leave court than when they come in.”
Yet judges hold the key to prevent victims from being more traumatised. A couple of years ago I investigated a case where a senior judge allowed the defendant to sit close to the witness box rather than in the dock. The witnesses had to give detailed, intimate evidence while being stunned and distraught at his physical proximity to them. One witness was totally humiliated by the defence barrister requiring her to repeatedly touch her own body in the same way that the defendant had allegedly touched her.
The judge could have ensured that diagrams or pictures were used rather than making the victim feel that she had been sexually exploited in court. It takes a great deal of courage for a victim of a sexual crime to give evidence, but acquittal rates will remain high until victims are treated with dignity and respect.
Karen Young
London EC2