Exclusive:'Rapists are walking free': SNP told to investigate rape myths infiltrating jury deliberations
The prevalence of rape myths is believed to be contributing to Scotland’s low rape conviction rate.
SNP ministers have been told to investigate a “significant issue with jurors making false assumptions” in sex offence trials after Scottish Government-commissioned research found almost half of Scots adults believe in at least one rape myth.
Rape Crisis Scotland is calling on the Scottish Government to stamp out rape myths influencing the outcome of rape trials after international evidence revealed a link.
More than 50 studies, involving more than 15,000 participants, have explored the impact of rape myths on jurors, finding a substantial body of evidence that jurors are subject to false beliefs and preconceptions which may influence their decisions.
The appeal comes after data published last week as part of the Scottish Government’s latest public insight monitor, conducted by YouGov, found 47 per cent of Scots adults believe in at least one rape myth.
Rape myths include false beliefs and misinformation that rape cannot take place within a relationship, that victims would always report an assault straight away and that rape would always include violence.
Ultimately, there are concerns such myths influencing jurors is contributing to Scotland’s low conviction rate for rape, which for single complainer cases is only 24 per cent. That low conviction rate comes as reported rapes and attempted rapes soared by 60 per cent in the space of a decade.
Contempt of Court amendment
Currently, research into rape myths can only be carried out in Scotland through mock trials due to Contempt of Court legislation. But an amendment to the Scottish Government’s Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Bill would allow robust research to take place.
Rape Crisis Scotland wants a commitment from SNP ministers to immediately commission an investigation into how deep the issue in Scotland is as soon as the Bill becomes law.
Campaigners vowing to improve outcomes for survivors were dealt a blow after the Scottish Government buckled under pressure from the legal professional and cancelled a proposed pilot of judge-led rape trials, a method used in other countries.
SNP ministers have also controversially shelved plans for a standalone offence of misogyny, seen as crucial in tackling the root causes of sexual violence and a widespread concern, including from politicians, that misogynist behaviour is on the rise.
Speaking to Scotland on Sunday, Rape Crisis Scotland chief executive Sandy Brindley warned that “there’s a significant issue with jurors making false assumptions in rape trials rather than basing their decision-making on the evidence” and raised the alarm over “juries bringing assumptions and at times, outright prejudice”.
Ms Brindley warned that “there’s really grave concerns that this could be happening routinely in our courts across Scotland”.
She pointed to a host of rape myths being spread and believed, including “assumptions that somebody will be really distressed, they will report straight away or that there will be significant physical violence”.
“I think this evidence strongly suggests that this is a contributing factor in why the conviction rate is so low - it’s the lowest of any crime type in Scotland”, Ms Brindley added.
‘Rapists walking free’
She said: “In single complainer cases, where it’s one victim and one accused, the conviction rate is only 24 per cent which I think is quite frightening and definitely suggests that a significant number of rapists are walking free.
“We really welcome the introduction of the amendment within the Victims Bill going through parliament just now to amend the Contempt of Court Act to allow research with actual juries to take place. However, what we’re calling for is for the Government to make a firm commitment to commissioning this research. We think it’s urgently required.”
Rape Crisis Scotland has been contacted by several anonymous jurors, raising concerns about the prevalence of rape myths in deliberations.
One juror wrote to the charity raising “serious concerns arising from my recent experience as a juror on a rape and domestic abuse trial in Scotland”.
Juror lifts lid on rape myths
They said: “I believe what I witnessed reflects wider structural issues that undermine justice in cases involving gender-based violence”.
They warned they were “deeply disturbed by some jurors’ comments, which reflected entrenched and harmful myths” including “that rape cannot happen within a relationship”, that “a woman might fabricate an allegation if a man was already accused of another sexual offence” and that “medical evidence of injury could be dismissed as likely caused by consensual ‘rough sex’”.
The juror added: “These attitudes fundamentally undermined the seriousness with which the evidence was considered".
They claimed that “jurors defaulted to assumptions shaped by murder trials, courtroom dramas, or media depictions of crime — rather than the real complexities of sexual violence” which “left the jury unprepared to make informed, fair decisions”.
Ms Brindley stressed that “this is not every jury”.
She said: “I’ve heard from some jurors who have said they were really impressed by the carefulness and the level of deliberations. But I think for rape survivors, it’s the postcode lottery, if you like - you can have a rape trial on one day in one city that comes to one verdict then the next day the jury could have come to a different verdict.
“That’s just unacceptable when we’re talking about crimes as serious as rape.”
Women ‘need confidence in justice system’
She stressed that for rape survivors to get an acquittal was “absolutely devastating”, but warned “these are dangerous, predatory men that are often walking free to rape again”.
Ms Brindley added: “So this is an urgent problem for us as a society. I think women need to have confidence in the justice system and confidence that decisions in their case will be made based on the evidence, not based on false assumptions about rape.
“More generally, what is being played out is attitudes about women’s behaviour and women’s sexuality.
“The research will enable us to get a real sense of what is happening in these cases so that we can properly address the impact of rape myths and ensure women actually have a chance of justice when they do take the really big step of reporting what’s happened to them.”
Courts in Scotland hand out instructions to jurors ahead of sitting on a rape or sex case that “they must make sure that they do not let any false assumptions or stereotypes about rape and sexual offending affect their verdict”.
Jurors given directions on rape myths
A list of false rape myths are also set out to jurors including that “there can be good reasons why unwanted sexual activity can take place without someone using physical force to overcome the will of the complainer or without physical resistance from the complainer”.
Other context given to jurors includes that “there is no standard way in which people should react” to being sexually assaulted and that “it is very common for a person who has been sexually assaulted or abused not to tell anyone about it for a long time”.
Tony Lenehan KC, the vice dean of the Faculty of Advocates, has stressed that rape myths are explained to jurors prior to deliberating rape or sexual cases.
He said: “There’s a standardised handout which is given to jurors before trials start which is then read to them as well.
“Jurors are told a variety of things about rape myths, about the pathway towards disclosure, about how they shouldn’t assume anything from the fact it sometimes takes people years to come forward. It explains why that is.
“It also explains what lawyers know as ‘battered wife syndrome’ - the fact you can’t just say ‘well, she wouldn't have stayed if it was as bad as they say it is’.”
He added: “We understand things a lot better than we did 20 or 40 years ago, so the Scottish courts have provided this guidance that should be followed in every case which touches on sexual offending.
“It touches on the outdated concept that unwanted sex has to be accompanied by violence and that sort of thing. That really has to be struck from the jurors’ mind because that’s not what the courts have learned about it.”
Rape Crisis Scotland and other campaigners have been left disappointed by the Scottish Government dropping the pilot for juryless rape trials.
Ms Brindley said: “Given we are not going ahead with the judge-led pilot, we absolutely must do something to address this issue of looking at the role of jury attitudes in the decision-making of these cases.
“It’s absolutely right that our accused must have a right to a fair trial but there is nothing in a judge-led trial that is inconsistent with an accused’s right to a fair trial. We do it all the time in summary cases. Many jurisdictions use judge-led trials for serious cases such as rape.
Concern after misogyny law dropped
“I think it was a real pity that the discussion around it became so polarised. What I think would have been much more helpful was a discussion on the substantive issue which is clearly a problem here, what is the best way of addressing it. We can’t just pretend it’s not an issue.”
First Minister John Swinney caused widespread anger after he confirmed his government will no longer have time to bring forward its delayed plans to legislate against misogyny before the 2026 Holyrood election. No firm commitment has been made by the SNP that plans will re-emerge if the party forms the next government.
Instead, a misogyny aggravator will be added to the Hate Crime Act - despite a review by Baroness Helena Kennedy recommending a separate law should be drawn up to tackle "the spectrum of misogynistic conduct", rather than including it in the hate crime law.
Ms Brindley said the U-turn on the misogyny bill was “really devastating”.
She said: “Like the judge-led pilot, this could have been a really groundbreaking development for us in Scotland for really trying to get to the causes of misogyny and also trying to address the reasons why women and girls feel so unsafe in so many situations - particularly on public transport or on the street.
“We could not need it more at this time when we are seeing so much misogyny, particularly amongst young men. We are also seeing record rises in reported rapes. I do think this is absolutely linked to increased misogyny and increased access to violent misogyny.”
In May, it was revealed that the number of new rape cases being reported to police across Scotland surged by more than a third since 2020/21 while data published in June found that the number of sex crimes recorded in Scotland is at its second highest level since 1971.
Mr Swinney has claimed that “the increase in the reporting of sexual crime is due to the fact that more people are prepared to come forward”. But Ms Brindley is not convinced.
She said: “We are seeing a very significant increase which is really alarming.“I think we are burying our heads in the sand if we put that entirely down to increased confidence. I think it’s very, very likely that at least some of that increase is due to more rapes taking place. Reports have been increasing significantly for the past two decades.
“I think there’s only so many years we can keep patting ourselves on the back and say it’s because people have more confidence. Some of it might be, but I think it is very likely that a significant part of that increase is more rapes taking place.
“I would like politicians to recognise that this is an urgent and pressing issue that needs action.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There is substantial evidence that jurors, and their decision-making, are influenced by rape myths, which is why amendments were made at Stage 2 of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Bill to allow for more detailed research into jury deliberations. If the Bill is passed, this will become law.
“Such research could help us better understand whether and how rape myths affect verdicts, and what measures could effectively address them. We will also be establishing a working group to bring together justice partners to consider what more can be done in practice to challenge and reduce the impact of rape myths.”