Commenting on research published today by the Home Office (Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2006/07), Dr Katherine Rake, Director of the Fawcett Society said:

"This report will make depressing reading for the Government and for the police.

"Only 60% of victims who go to the police find them very or fairly helpful, while only one in five people think that the Government and the criminal justice agencies are doing enough about rape. Wholesale reform is needed to give women confidence in the system and to ensure that every victim is treated appropriately.

"More than half (53%) of victims of serious sexual violence also reported that they suffered mental or emotional problems as a result of being attacked. Yet three-quarters of local authorities have no support services at all for victims of rape, and half of the few remaining rape crisis centres are at risk of closing due to a lack of funding.

"This week the Fawcett Society has launched a new campaign (Justice for Rape Victims), calling on the Government to put rape at the top of their agenda. The Government cannot bury their heads in the sand any longer. Action is needed now to address the lack of services for rape victims and to improve the criminal justice system for victims of rape."

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