More than 200 people have been prosecuted under a revenge porn law introduced in April 2015, a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) report shows.
Figures for England and Wales reveal that rape, domestic abuse and sexual offences now account for almost a fifth of all cases, with prosecutions and convictions at record levels.
The CPS says improvements are due to extra resources and better training.
But charities say more needs to be done to encourage reporting of offences.
The CPS’s annual Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) report, which incorporates data on men and boys, has been conducted since 2007.
It became an offence to share private sexual photographs or films without the subject’s consent in England and Wales in April 2015.
What does the report show?
In the year 2015-16, ending in March:
- Domestic abuse, rape and sexual offences accounted for nearly 19% of the CPS’s workload – an increase over the past six years from just under 9%
- 206 people were prosecuted for disclosing private sexual images without consent or revenge porn
- More than 100,000 people were prosecuted for domestic abuse, with a conviction rate of more than 75%
- The number of prosecutions for rape were the highest ever recorded (4,643) and almost 58% (2,689) of those prosecuted were convicted
- Child sexual abuse convictions increased by almost 17% to 4,643
- The number of prosecutions for other sexual offences increased by nearly 23% to 11,995 – with 9,351 people being convicted
- Nearly 70% (9,077) of stalking and harassment prosecutions were related to domestic abuse – an increase of about 10%
- There were five prosecutions for controlling or coercive behaviour since a new law came into force in December 2015
Social media was also identified as a “growing trend” connected to such offences, and in cases of coercive control the CPS found defendants monitored phone messages and emails and used GPS tracking.
Director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, said: “We are proud of the changes we have made to the way we prosecute these offences in 2015-16 and the impact these changes have had on improving convictions.”
She said she has doubled resources in specialist units handling rape and serious sexual offence cases, and that prosecutors received detailed training.
“Today a rape, domestic abuse, sexual offence or child abuse case is more likely to be prosecuted and convicted than ever before,” she added, but there was “still more to be done to ensure all victims receive the service they deserve.” (BBC News)