🚨 Specialised courts for Rape and DV, Time Limits for CPS Decisions & Court Trials in Rape & DV Cases, Trauma informed Police & Courts

Who is affected?
Survivors of rape and domestic violence across the UK are being failed by the justice system. Instead of receiving swift justice and support, they are forced to wait years—not only for a CPS charging decision but also for their case to reach trial. Many victims suffer from Acute and Complex PTSD due to horrific crimes, yet they remain trapped in legal limbo for 2-5 years—unable to speak up about what happened, unable to heal, unable to work, and unable to rebuild their lives. Every delay retraumatizes them, forcing them to relive their worst experiences for years, with no closure.

Some victims are even pressured to withdraw their cases entirely because they cannot cope with the relentless uncertainty, isolation, and emotional toll.

Meanwhile, alleged offenders continue their lives uninterrupted. Not remanded but bailed, creating further victims. Justice is not just delayed—it is effectively denied.

 
What is at stake?
If this crisis continues, more victims will be abandoned by the system. Without clear time limits, cases will continue to pile up, and survivors will be left suffering in silence, retraumatized at every stage. The impact is devastating:

🔹 Mental health declines – Prolonged legal uncertainty worsens PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Many victims are left suicidal by systemic failures, trapped in survival mode with no closure.

🔹 Loss of financial security – The trauma of endless delays leaves many victims unable to work or support themselves. Survivors lose their livelihoods while the system keeps them waiting.

🔹 Social isolation – Friends and family struggle to understand why justice takes so long, leaving survivors without a support network. Families are torn apart, and survivors cannot discuss the investigation, leaving them to suffer alone, in silence.

🔹 The system silences victims while protecting perpetrators – Survivors are warned not to speak out about their cases, while the accused face no such restrictions. This enables offenders to continue abusing, escalate their violence, and create more victims—all while the system protects them through inaction.

If nothing changes, survivors will stop reporting these crimes altogether. This is not just a legal failure—it is a moral failure that abandons the most vulnerable while empowering abusers.

These survivors have already endured unimaginable trauma. They have faced violence, fear, psychological abuse, and betrayal, yet they find the courage to seek justice—only to be met with years of further torture and retraumatization by the very system meant to protect them.

They carry the weight of their trauma every single day, while their cases sit in legal purgatory for 2-5 years.

🔹 This is not justice. This is inhumane.

🔹 This could be your daughter, your sister, your mother, your friend or partner

No one is immune to this broken system. As a society, we have a duty to protect the vulnerable and innocent by ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice in a fair and timely manner.

Delaying justice for years is a second sentence for victims, forcing them to live in perpetual survival mode, while their abusers remain free.

🔹 This must end.

🔹 No survivor should have to carry nervous system trauma for years while waiting for a system that continually fails them.

Key Statistic

As of 2024, 73,000 cases were awaiting trial or sentencing in Crown Courts—double the number since 2019, with over 11,000 sexual offence cases still pending. This backlog leaves survivors waiting years for justice, prolonging their trauma (Hansard, Rape Crisis).

🚨 Survivors are being failed at every level of the justice system. 

 
Why is now the time to act?
The justice system is at breaking point, and survivors cannot afford to wait any longer. Every month of inaction means more victims trapped in limbo, unable to move forward with their lives.

The government and CPS must take urgent action to:

🔹 Introduce a maximum time limit for CPS charging decisions and trials in rape & DV cases. 

🔷 Set up special courts for rape and domestic violence.

🔹 Set a strict timeframe for investigations preventing indefinite delays. 

🔹 Address the backlog immediately and prioritize these cases.

🔹 Ensure the legal system is trauma-informed, so it stops retraumatizing victims.

This crisis is destroying lives. These are some of the worst crimes, yet they have the longest wait times for justice. I was a victim of this system, I waited 27 months for charging, the first hearing was 31 months and the trial was estimated 4-5 years. The system traumatised me as much as the original abuse. I am not alone. This is standard in rape and dv investigations! 

We demand action NOW.

💜 Please support this cause by signing and sharing this petition to make them listen—because justice delayed is justice denied.

One person alone cannot make this change, but collectively, we can demand action.

🚨 Survivors deserve better.

🚨 Their families and children deserve better.

🔹 Sign & Share Now 🔹