STEWART PATERSON

Political Correspondent

Women’s sexual history is being raised on too many occasions in rape trials, MSPs have been told.

Prosecution lawyers delving into women’s sexual past to undermine their evidence is putting women off coming forward to report rape, according to campaign an support groups.

The Scottish Parliament Justice Committee heard that in the first three months of this year, there were dozens of applications to lead evidence about the alleged victims sexual past and most were granted.

Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis told the committee it was still a “big issue” for court cases.

She said proper research on the matter was a decade out of date but that showed seven out of ten women would have sexual history raised during rape trails.

She said: “It is prejudicial and puts women off.”

She raised the recent re-trial of footballer Ched Evans where he was acquitted of rape after accounts of the woman’ sexual history was given in evidence.

She said: “The Ched Evans case was a complete travesty what happened to that woman.”

The high profile case has prompted renewed calls for women’s sexual history not to be used as evidence in trails.

In written evidence Rape Crisis Scotland outlined the scale of the problem.

It said in January to March this year there were 57 applications to lead sexual history or character evidence in trials in Scottish courts.

Of these 51 applications were unopposed 41 were granted in full, and 5 in part.

Ms Brindley said the situation was better than a decade ago but added there needs to be an independent evaluation of how this works.

The statement said: “On the face of it, the very low level of opposition to these applications, and their high success rate, is worrying, but we need proper research to analyse what type of applications are being made and approved.”

The support group said that women still report that their experience of giving evidence in a rape trial is “a violating and traumatic experience”.

It called for the Crown to offer more protection of complainers in rape cases.

Rape Crisis said there was still a far too low prosecution rate for the number of complaints made.

It said in 2014-15, there were 1,901 rapes and attempted rapes reported to the police, but only 270 rapes and attempted rapes were prosecuted and there were 125 convictions.