The government has announced all police forces in England and Wales will have specialist teams to investigate rape and sexual offences by the end of 2027.
At the end of last year, former Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips announced plans to introduce specialist rape and sexual offences teams by 2029 as part of the government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.
However, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has brought the deadline forward by 18 months, describing the original timescale as ‘too slow’.
‘The scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is unacceptable,’ Burnham said. ‘We must be laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes.’
He added: ‘We’re taking action to accelerate the rollout of specialist rape and sexual offence teams, who will go after perpetrators, enforce strict new protection orders to protect survivors and invest in programmes to intensively manage offenders to break the cycle of abuse.’
The announcement comes alongside £13.3m of funding for up to 10 police forces to trial new teams enforcing protection orders.
They will monitor restrictions on alleged perpetrators, including electronic tagging, exclusion zones and attendance at behaviour change programmes. Courts can impose measures without criminal conviction.
The government is also expanding domestic abuse protection orders to cover coercive control, stalking and economic abuse.
Statistics show around 900,000 adults experienced sexual assault last year and about 3.8 million were subjected to domestic abuse, while 1.4 million faced stalking.
Nour Norris OBE, whose sister Khaola Saleem and niece Raneem Oudeh were murdered in 2018, said the plans could save lives if they’re implemented properly.
‘The 27 August marked eight years since my sister Khaola and niece Raneem were murdered in 2018,’ Norris said. ‘Eight years on, I carry not only the pain of losing them, but the responsibility to keep pushing for change.
‘Raneems experience of abuse included sexual violence and harassment, alongside domestic abuse, stalking and coercive behaviour. These are not separate issues. They can overlap, escalate and place women at very serious risk.
‘Raneem repeatedly reached out for help. No woman should have to keep proving that she is in danger before action is taken.’
‘I welcome this progress, but the real test will be whether women are believed, protected and supported at the point they ask for help,’ Norris added. ‘I will continue working with government through Raneem’s Law and my wider advocacy so that the lessons from Raneem and Khaola’s deaths lead to lasting change and greater protection for others.’
Image: Ethan Wilkinson/UnSplash
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