Council publishes research on sex offence sentencing
Two new research reports, on the sentencing of rape and offences involving sexual assault in Scotland, have been published today by the Scottish Sentencing Council.
The Council is currently developing sentencing guidelines for the offences of rape, sexual assault and having indecent images of children, and the research will inform its work.
The literature reviews, carried out by Dr Rachel McPherson, Nicholas Burgess, Dr Jay Gormley and Professor Cyrus Tata of the School of Law at the University of Glasgow and the Centre for Law, Crime & Justice at the University of Strathclyde, also include an overview of studies which have examined public perceptions of rape and sexual assault sentencing.
Both reviews discuss the significance of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, which altered the law of sexual offences extensively, creating a new statutory framework distinguishing consent-based offences and non-consent-based offences, with the culpability of the offender being directly related to the victim’s capacity to consent.
The reviews note the specific considerations involved in the sentencing of sexual crimes as compared with other types of offence: the particular risks to the victim/survivor, such as pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections; and the psychological harm caused, which is likely to be given greater weight than in other types of case.
On public perceptions, the research suggests that although members of the public tend to view sentencing as a whole, including sexual assault and rape, as lenient, when presented with case scenarios, their sentencing choices are more closely in line with actual sentences given.
The reviews highlight limitations in the data available which make it difficult to fully understand sentencing practice and patterns, for example in relation to cases involving multiple offences.
The Council said the research would be of great assistance in the development of guidelines on these offences, and would consider in particular how it might seek to better understand sentencing practice in these areas given some of the difficulties involved in interpreting official statistics.
It also intends to publish in the near future commissioned research on public perceptions of sentencing in sexual offences cases, including interviews with survivors.