Labor wants to cut court wait times for rape cases from three years to less than six months

Steve Reed has sworn that tackling the "epidemic of violence" facing women is "the first thing" he wants to s 'attack if Labor comes to power at the next general election

Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed has pledged to tackle the "epidemic of violence" facing women (

Image: Phil Harris)

Waiting times in court for rape cases should be reduced from three years to less than six months, the Labor Justice Secretary has said.

Steve Reed has vowed that tackling the “epidemic of violence” facing women is “the first thing” he wants to tackle if Labor wins the next general election.

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The MP for Croydon North has pledged to set up specialist courts to deal with rape cases to clear up the 'shocking' backlog of cases.

He told GB News, "When you look at the statistics, barely one in every hundred reported rapes results in a conviction. That effectively decriminalizes rape in my opinion.

"And if you're one of those rare women, and it's almost always women, who is a rape victim who goes to court, the average wait is three years.

"I would like to bring them down to less than a six month wait rather than a three year wait, and I want to reduce the backlog in court so that if you are the victim of such a violent and aggressive offense as rape , you trust that the criminal justice system is on your side. »

There were nearly 200 rapes reported to police every day in 2021 (

Picture:

Getty Images)

Mr. Reed, who has served as Justice Secretary since November 2021, also said...