UK to introduce special rape and serious sexual offence courts, amid low prosecution rate

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday announced introduction of dedicated courts to hear rape and serious sexual offences, aiming to speed up convictions and reduce the backlog that has plagued the justice system for years.According to the announcement, every Crown Court in England and Wales will be equipped with at least one courtroom specifically designed to handle these cases within the next two years, with the goal of bringing more offenders to justice.As per data from UK’s ministry of justice, rape cases reaching the Crown Court took an average of 424 days to resolve last year, forcing many victims to abandon their cases before trial.“Prosecution rates for rape remain shamefully low, with many victims waiting years for justice," said Burnham.