Latest news with #LordAdvocate
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
My abuser would be charged under new Scottish law
A woman who reported she was raped as a child but could not get her case to court has been told that her abuser would have been charged under new rules. Emma Bryson was 10 years old when a family member began abusing her - he was never prosecuted due to insufficient evidence and has since died. Last year eight judges made the historic decision to overturn an 87-year-old rule on corroboration in rape and sexual abuse cases - meaning more cases may reach the required legal threshold to go to court. Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain has since carried out a review of Ms Bryson's case - 40 years on from the abuse - and confirmed there would now be enough evidence to proceed. Landmark ruling 'could have convicted my rapist' Ruling could transform rape cases in Scottish courts Sex crimes reported in Scotland at 50-year high Ms Bryson disclosed what was happening to her aged 14. She said: "I was just told, there wasn't any evidence, so they weren't going to take it forward. "The person I was reporting was a family member, so it affected my whole family. It was a really, really difficult thing to do, and I wasn't equipped for it really." In 2016 she tried again. By then she felt able to talk about what had happened to her and she was confident something would be done. "I made the assumption that if I went to the police, that I made a statement, if there was any evidence available, the police would be able to use that evidence," she said. "I knew there were social work records, there were medical records, and lots of people knew about what happened to me." The second investigation took a year, but again, police could not progress because the evidence available did not meet the requirements of corroboration. "Until that point, I didn't even know what corroboration meant," Ms Bryson said. "I thought as long as there's information to corroborate my account, that that would have been sufficient." Scottish criminal law requires corroboration – two independent sources of evidence that a crime has been committed and that an accused person was responsible. By the very nature of sexual crimes, verifying an allegation of a rape or assault has always been difficult and meant many reports never make it to court. Ms Bryson set up the campaign group Speak Out Survivors along with two other women who also reported child sexual abuse - Suzy Angus and Shirley Ross. All three were told their cases could not be corroborated and their abusers were not charged. They campaigned for a change in the law and as a result, the definition of corroboration was changed in sexual abuse and rape cases. In 2023 the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, took the rules of corroborating rape to court. In particular, allegations of rape required there to be corroboration of penetration through at least two sources of evidence. Evidence of distress by a complainer could not provide the necessary corroboration of the act, but could only confirm a lack of consent. The court decided it was only the case against the accused that required to be proven by corroborated evidence, and not the separate elements individually. This meant distress shown by the complainer at the time could be used as evidence. Ms Bryson said: "I think it's important to say that for all three of us, when we started this campaign, we never did so with the expectation that we would change our own cases. "We did it because we wanted to make things better and easier for other rape victims in the future and make that difference to enable more cases to be taken forward. "When that legal change happened, that has effectively achieved that. More rape victims now will have better access to justice because of it." As a result of the change in the guidance, Ms Bryson's case was able to be reconsidered. It took time to re-examine the evidence. "It was a long time waiting, the third time around for me trying to see an outcome. "But under the definition of corroboration now, there was sufficient evidence for my case to be charged," she said. The relative had died in the interim, but Ms Bryson said: "I felt vindicated, like all the work that we'd done for those seven years, it was worth it. "We'd been right in our view that corroboration prevented offenders from being prosecuted and specifically sex offenders." She is proud of the work she and the other two women carried out. "The child that I was has survived to become the adult that I am, and I'm really proud of that," she said. "I think Suzy and Shirley would both say the same thing. I have no regrets, absolutely no regrets. I would do it again in a heartbeat." Some defence lawyers say the change in the law could lead to miscarriages of justice. Thomas Ross KC feels it would be "impossible" to quantify how many there could be. "There are already huge restrictions on the extent to which defence lawyers can cross-examine people in these cases," he told BBC Scotland News. "There's a trend towards pre-recording of evidence, which also makes the challenge to the evidence a bit more difficult, and this on top of it, where there's less evidence required for it to go to a jury. "There's a danger, if no second source is required, that that might just be enough for them." He said that experience showed that where a "flexible law" is introduced - like this - then it is "stretched and stretched". He added: "The distress would require to be recent for it to be seen as corroboration, but case law can develop and develop, and before you know it, we've got a case where the distress is seen five years after the event, and the appeal court just waive it through, and that standard of evidence is lowered again." If you have been affected by any of the themes in this story, help can be found at the BBC Action Line.
BBC News
08-05-2025
- BBC News
My abuser would be charged under new Scottish law
A woman who reported she was raped as a child but could not get her case to court has been told that her abuser would have been charged under new Bryson was 10 years old when a family member began abusing her - he was never prosecuted due to insufficient evidence and has since year eight judges made the historic decision to overturn an 87-year-old rule on corroboration in rape and sexual abuse cases - meaning more cases may reach the required legal threshold to go to Advocate Dorothy Bain has since carried out a review of Ms Bryson's case - 40 years on from the abuse - and confirmed there would now be enough evidence to proceed. Ms Bryson disclosed what was happening to her aged said: "I was just told, there wasn't any evidence, so they weren't going to take it forward."The person I was reporting was a family member, so it affected my whole family. It was a really, really difficult thing to do, and I wasn't equipped for it really."In 2016 she tried then she felt able to talk about what had happened to her and she was confident something would be done."I made the assumption that if I went to the police, that I made a statement, if there was any evidence available, the police would be able to use that evidence," she said."I knew there were social work records, there were medical records, and lots of people knew about what happened to me."The second investigation took a year, but again, police could not progress because the evidence available did not meet the requirements of corroboration."Until that point, I didn't even know what corroboration meant," Ms Bryson said. "I thought as long as there's information to corroborate my account, that that would have been sufficient." What is corroboration? Scottish criminal law requires corroboration – two independent sources of evidence that a crime has been committed and that an accused person was the very nature of sexual crimes, verifying an allegation of a rape or assault has always been difficult and meant many reports never make it to Bryson set up the campaign group Speak Out Survivors along with two other women who also reported child sexual abuse - Suzy Angus and Shirley three were told their cases could not be corroborated and their abusers were not charged. They campaigned for a change in the law and as a result, the definition of corroboration was changed in sexual abuse and rape 2023 the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, took the rules of corroborating rape to particular, allegations of rape required there to be corroboration of penetration through at least two sources of evidence. Evidence of distress by a complainer could not provide the necessary corroboration of the act, but could only confirm a lack of consent. The court decided it was only the case against the accused that required to be proven by corroborated evidence, and not the separate elements meant distress shown by the complainer at the time could be used as Bryson said: "I think it's important to say that for all three of us, when we started this campaign, we never did so with the expectation that we would change our own cases."We did it because we wanted to make things better and easier for other rape victims in the future and make that difference to enable more cases to be taken forward."When that legal change happened, that has effectively achieved that. More rape victims now will have better access to justice because of it." 'I felt vindicated' As a result of the change in the guidance, Ms Bryson's case was able to be reconsidered. It took time to re-examine the evidence."It was a long time waiting, the third time around for me trying to see an outcome."But under the definition of corroboration now, there was sufficient evidence for my case to be charged," she relative had died in the interim, but Ms Bryson said: "I felt vindicated, like all the work that we'd done for those seven years, it was worth it."We'd been right in our view that corroboration prevented offenders from being prosecuted and specifically sex offenders."She is proud of the work she and the other two women carried out."The child that I was has survived to become the adult that I am, and I'm really proud of that," she said."I think Suzy and Shirley would both say the same thing. I have no regrets, absolutely no regrets. I would do it again in a heartbeat." The case against Some defence lawyers say the change in the law could lead to miscarriages of justice. Thomas Ross KC feels it would be "impossible" to quantify how many there could be."There are already huge restrictions on the extent to which defence lawyers can cross-examine people in these cases," he told BBC Scotland News."There's a trend towards pre-recording of evidence, which also makes the challenge to the evidence a bit more difficult, and this on top of it, where there's less evidence required for it to go to a jury. "There's a danger, if no second source is required, that that might just be enough for them."He said that experience showed that where a "flexible law" is introduced - like this - then it is "stretched and stretched".He added: "The distress would require to be recent for it to be seen as corroboration, but case law can develop and develop, and before you know it, we've got a case where the distress is seen five years after the event, and the appeal court just waive it through, and that standard of evidence is lowered again."If you have been affected by any of the themes in this story, help can be found at the BBC Action Line.
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Lord Advocate says ‘no reason' to block more drug consumption rooms
More drug consumption rooms could open across Scotland, the country's senior law officer has indicated. Dorothy Bain KC, the Lord Advocate, suggested such centres could get the green light as she appeared before the Scottish affairs committee at Westminster and was questioned about the Thistle centre in Glasgow, which opened in January and is the UK's first facility of its kind. At the centre, drug users can take illegal substances with trained medical staff on hand to deal with emergencies. Ms Bain said she had not received other proposals to set up safer drug consumption rooms but indicated there was 'no reason' why similar projects could not go ahead. The Glasgow centre, which is a three-year pilot project, opened after the Lord Advocate made it clear that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute its users for possession of drugs. She suggested to MPs that this stance could be applied in other areas if this was 'underpinned by the very strong evidence base' that there was in Glasgow. She also told the committee it was not for her to determine what the criteria should be for judging if the Thistle is a success or not, and there would be a 'rigorous evaluation' of the centre. On the question of whether it could be continued beyond the three-year pilot period, she said that if the situation remained 'compelling, as it is at the moment', then this could be considered. Ms Bain was asked by Patricia Ferguson, the committee chairman, if she would consider similar requests for such facilities to be set up by other local authorities. She replied: 'Any other proposal of the type we got in this case would be considered in the same way.' But she added: 'I haven't received any other proposals.' The Lord Advocate told MPs that the area where the Glasgow centre is based is one where there were 'particular issues around open drug use', adding that this had an impact on both the local community and businesses in the area. The Lord Advocate continued: 'There would be no reason why we couldn't make the same sort of assessment in relation to another such facility, so long as it was underpinned by the very strong evidence base we were given in order to make the decision for the Thistle centre.' While simple possession offences committed within the confines of the facility are not prosecuted under section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, it does not extend to people on their way to and from the facility or anywhere else in Glasgow, and drugs seized by police will not be returned to an individual. Supt Joanne McEwan of Police Scotland told MPs it was not the force's aim to target those using the facility. She said: 'Somebody on their way to the facility, that on its own would not offer an officer reasonable grounds to search, to stop and search that person.' Supt McEwan pointed out that if an officer had reasonable grounds to search somebody and found them to be in possession of a suspected controlled drug, then 'somebody's assertion that they were going to the facility would not provide a defence'. In March, Allan Casey, Glasgow city council's addiction services convener, told the committee there is a need for more facilities like the Thistle in both Scotland and across the UK. Recent figures showed there were 251 suspected drug deaths in Scotland between December and February, up from 215 the previous quarter. It prompted Neil Gray, the Scottish Health Secretary, to warn of the dangers of an 'increasingly toxic and unpredictable drug supply'. Scottish Labour has warned, however, that the safe consumption room pilot is not a substitute for a co-ordinated effort to stop the supply of drugs by criminal gangs 'who have no thought for the tragedies they unleash'.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Scotland's top prosecutor paves way for more hard drug 'shooting galleries' for junkies despite claims pilot site has fuelled crime and used needle littering
Scotland's top prosecutor today paved the way for more 'shooting galleries' to be set up to allow drug addicts to inject heroin and cocaine without fear of arrest. Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC told MPs there was 'no reason' why more consumption rooms could not be created, after a three-year pilot scheme was launched in Glasgow. The Thistle centre opened in January after the Lord Advocate issued a statement making clear it would not be in the public interest to prosecute those using it for possession of drugs. Scotland has the highest rate of drugs deaths in Europe, with fatalities rising by 12 per cent in a year to 1,172 drug-related deaths in 2023, of which 246 were in Glasgow. But the centre has been blamed it for a rise in crime and drugs paraphernalia littering the streets. Residents of the Calton area of the city said the clinic had led to a growing number of needles left in the streets and an influx of users travelling in from other parts of the city. Asked if the Thistle's three-year remit could be extended, Ms Bain said that if the situation remained 'compelling, as it is at the moment' then this could be considered. Asked by committee chair Patricia Ferguson if she would consider similar requests for such facilities to be set up by other local authorities, she replied: 'Any other proposal of the type we got in this case would be considered in the same way.' However, she said: 'I haven't received any other proposals.' In March it was revealed there had been more than 1,000 visits to the Thistle by addicts. The centre had seen 17 overdoses since it opened, according to service manager Lynn Macdonald, some of which she said would have resulted in death had staff not stepped in. The centre was established in a bid to stem the number of drug deaths in Scotland by offering a safe place to inject as well as referring users to support services. However, Ms Macdonald said none of the users have asked for a rehab referral. Speaking in London today, Ms Bain said: 'I think I would have to be guided by the experts in public health as to whether or not they considered it to be a success. 'I am not a doctor, I am not an expert on drug use, or drug disease. What I would do is take into account what the experts were reporting about the impact of the facility.' She added that there would be a 'rigorous evaluation' of the Thistle centre – which is the first such facility of its kind in the UK. The Lord Advocate told the MPs that the statement of prosecution policy for the Thistle had been made 'on the basis of expert, factual evidence and statistical features of drug deaths in Scotland'. She added that the area where the centre is based is one where there were 'particular issues around open drug use', adding that this had an impact on both the local community and businesses in the area. Ms Bain said: 'It was a focused area in Glasgow where it seemed to be a very dense problem.' Adding that 'all these features led into the ultimate decision that was made', the Lord Advocate continued: 'There would be no reason why we couldn't make the same sort of assessment in relation to another such facility, so long as it was underpinned by the very strong evidence base we were given in order to make the decision for the Thistle centre.' In March, Allan Casey, Glagsow City Councils' addiction services convener, told the committee there is a need for more facilities like the Thistle in both Scotland and across the UK. The safer consumption room was only established after a lengthy campaign, with Mr Casey saying to the MPs: 'We have managed to do it in Glasgow but we know safe consumption rooms are needed, we need more of them in Scotland and across the UK as well.'
