Gatekeeping Justice: The Problems of Social Attitudes, Rape Myths and Institutional Failures in Criminalising Rape

Existing research has shown that rape myths are a key barrier to criminalising rape. Rape myths ‘deny, trivialise or justify’ sexual violence, and can influence the verdict at trial. However, this research brings to light other powerful systemic barriers to criminalising rape, particularly in the early stages, by critically analysing CPS data, police inspections, Ministry of Justice reviews and national statistics. Although rape myths have proven pervasive during these early stages in the system, they are just one example of wider institutional sexism at the initial policing stage. The data indicates that while rape myths hinder criminalisation, particularly at trial, the institutional sexism of the police is the key barrier to criminalising rape overall. The police stage is the gateway to the entire justice system and determines whether a case progresses, and rape cannot be criminalised if cases are prevented from progressing past this barrier. This research further evaluates the effectiveness of reform propositions and attempts, such as specialised rape units across the UK, judicial directions, and ‘juryless trials’ in Scotland. Alongside legal mechanisms, broader social education is necessary to address generally held attitudes as these can infiltrate and adversely impact all stages of the criminal justice system.