Victim/Survivor Views and Experiences of Sentencing for Rape and Other Sexual Offences

• In Event: Sentencing of Sexual Offences

Abstract

The sentencing of rape and other sexual offences is a controversial, complex, and emotive issue with profound implications for victim-survivors. Yet research has rarely engaged with victim-survivor voices on this pivotal aspect of the criminal justice process. This paper, therefore, explores victim-survivor views and experiences of sentencing processes and outcomes by drawing upon a qualitative study incorporating in-depth interviews with adult victim-survivors whose cases resulted in a recent conviction and sentence in Scotland. Our findings indicate that, while punitive views might be anticipated amongst those who have experienced sexual violence and engaged with the criminal justice system, a more complex picture emerges from victim-survivor accounts. Perspectives on sentencing were primarily underpinned by philosophies of deterrence and rehabilitation, and to a lesser extent retribution, with a range of aggravating and mitigating factors identified as particular to sexual offending. Further, while achieving a conviction and sentence may be perceived publicly as ‘having won’, victim-survivor narratives point to a troubled relationship with both the sentencing process and the sentence imposed. For some, a custodial sentence provided safety, solace, and space to recover. However, consistent with existing research undertaken with victim-survivors about their experience of criminal justice proceedings, participants also highlighted their lack of voice and their sense of being marginal to the sentencing process. In conclusion, despite their sustained and lengthy engagement in the criminal justice process and the apparent ‘success’ of their case, victim-survivors who reach sentencing face heightened marginalisation and become superfluous to a process that ‘no longer needs them’. We argue that victim-survivor voice and participation in sentencing processes are essential to mitigate their marginalisation and highlight ways in which this could be achieved.

Authors

• Oona Brooks-Hay, University of Glasgow /SCCJR

• Michele Jane Burman, University of Glasgow