Birthright shouldn’t outweigh real justice

For many survivors, this will be bittersweet news. While this does not compensate for not having a guilty verdict, or a thorough investigation by the Metropolitan police which was stalled in 2021, it is significant.

It’s recognition that such serious allegations of abuse should not be inconsequential, even if a court case about it is settled.

Sadly, Virginia Guiffre isn’t here to witness it after a decade of tireless and painful campaigning that her relatives say led to her suicide.

While the Palace maintains that Andrew denies all allegations, and we know he has not faced any time in prison, it brings us back to the elusive idea of justice for survivors of sexual violence and abuse.

The stripping of the titles isn’t an investigation into Andrew’s actions; it’s not accountability, and it falls short of the kind of justice we hope survivors get.

I’ve been supporting survivors of gender-based violence for more than a decade, and most survivors tell me they would not go through the process of reporting their abuse if they could go back in time. This says a lot about trust in our legal system.

Justice isn’t often possible for survivors of abuse. Legal or criminal justice is often retraumatising, lengthy, expensive and painful.

According to the Home Office, in the year ending June 2024, approximately 36 per cent of all sexual offences recorded by the police were rape offences.

Only 2.6 per cent of those who went to court led to a conviction. And yet we always ask why victims of abuse don’t come forward.

There have been questions about whether this removal of the title means the Metropolitan Police will again seriously pursue the 2021 investigations into Andrew.

If the reason why the investigation did not take place is that he had the title of a prince, what does that say about our justice system?

What does it say about how our public institutions are supposed to keep women and girls safe from all - wealthy or not, royal or not?

How long will we protect the reputations and livelihoods of famous, abusive men? These are the questions we should be asking.

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Hera Hussain is the Founder and CEO of Chayn, a global nonprofit that creates online resources to address gender-based violence.

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