Jess Phillips: Government must "move every muscle" to tighten rape laws

2 August 2020, 11:57

Government should be "moving every muscle" to tighten rape laws

This Labour MP told Iain Dale that statistics showing a low conviction rate are "not good for justice" and more has to be done to enforce rape laws more effectively.

Jess Phillips is Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and safeguarding and Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley and was speaking to Iain Dale about shocking statistics that show rape convictions have hit a record low.

"All sorts of issues that have been raised by a various number of judicial reviews," Ms Phillips began and felt that "changes in practice by the CPS" could be one of the reasons for a massive drop off in convictions.

The Labour MP said that Government should be "moving every muscle" to ensure that the decline is addressed and solved, as current statistics are "essentially making rape a crime that you can commit with impunity."

"It's certainly not good for justice."

Iain shared statistics that showed only 1,800 people being charged with rape in the UK after 60,000 reports of rape.

Ms Phillips reflected on the numbers, pointing out that "there is 50,000 people that have come forward and spoken about their rape" where their rapist still walks the streets.

"As a woman and a mother of children I'm not particularly pleased with that statistic," the Labour MP said.

Ms Phillips noted that "people know that if they commit rape they are likely to get away with it," and this is not acceptable.