Labour MP Charlotte Nichols has told the House of Commons that it took 1,088 days after she was raped for her case to reach court.
During a debate on the Courts and Tribunals Bill, she said that she was raped at an event she attended as an MP.
While she has previously spoken about the PTSD she suffered after being the victim of a crime, this is the first time Ms Nichols how spoken publicly about the offence being rape.
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She revealed her experience in the Commons while speaking out against the government’s plans to remove the right to a jury trial for Crown Court cases concerning crimes that carry sentences of up to three years.
She said Justice Secretary David Lammy was using rape victims “as a cudgel to drive through reforms that aren’t directly relevant to them”.
Ms Nichols, who is the MP for Warrington North, said that her rapist was acquitted at criminal trial, but a later civil case found that she had been raped and a compensation order was made.
She told MPs: “I care profoundly about rape victims facing intolerable delays for their day in court. I know only too well what that feels like, as after being raped at an event that I attended in my capacity as a member of Parliament, I waited 1,088 days to go to court.
“Every single one of those days was agony, made worse by having a role in public life that meant that the mental health consequences of my trauma were played out in public.”
MPs approved the Courts and Tribunals Bill for its first vote on Tuesday.
Ms Nichols abstained on the bill.
Charlotte Nichols was comforted by fellow MP Stella Creasy after making her speech. Pic: UK Parliament
Under the proposals, only the most serious cases, such as rape, murder and manslaughter, would be heard by a jury.
The government claims the reforms will cut the rising case backlog and deliver justice for victims more quickly.
‘Weaponising’ rape survivors
Ms Nichols said that that government was weaponising the experiences of rape survivors, which were “being used for rhetorical misdirection for what this bill actually is”.
“The violence against women and girls sector haven’t had the opportunity to come together to discuss it, and the government’s framing and narrative has been to pit survivors and defendants against each other in a way I think is deeply damaging,” she said.
“We have been told that if we have concerns about this bill, it is because we have not been raped or because we don’t care enough for rape victims.
“The opposite is true in my case. It is because I have been raped that I am as passionate as I am about what it means for a justice system to be truly victim focus.”
Ms Nichols pointed to Labour’s manifesto pledge of specialist rape courts, which have yet to be introduced.
She also pointed to research by the Institute for Government suggesting the reforms may only save 2% of court time.
“We risk offering false hope to rape victims rather than real change,” she said.
Multiple MPs praised the bravery Ms Nichols had shown by sharing her experience.
Responding to Ms Nichols later in the debate, courts minister Sarah Sackman said the government was providing more than £500m of funding for victims’ services, and new independent legal advisers for rape victims.
