For anyone who has experienced rape or sexual abuse, coming forward and entering the criminal justice system can feel like an enormous step.
The process can be lengthy, unpredictable and, at times, incredibly difficult to navigate. For survivors who have already experienced trauma, having to repeatedly retell what happened, wait months or even years for a case to reach court, and face an unfamiliar legal process can add another layer of distress.
So the recent announcement of changes to the way rape and serious sexual offence cases are dealt with across England and Wales is significant.
On 21 September 2026, the government announced plans for specialist courtrooms for rape and serious sexual offences to be rolled out across every Crown Court in England and Wales. The changes are intended to make the experience of going through the justice system more supportive, predictable and trauma-informed for survivors.
What is changing?
Under the new approach, every Crown Court in England and Wales will have at least one courtroom specially set up to deal with rape and serious sexual offence cases over the next two years.
The changes include:
Rape and serious sexual offence cases being prioritised, rather than being placed on floating lists where hearings can be moved at short notice.
Fixed trial dates, giving survivors greater certainty about when their case will be heard.
Private waiting rooms and entrances, reducing the likelihood of survivors having to wait in shared public areas.
Facilities to allow evidence to be pre-recorded where appropriate.
The ability for victims to watch sentencing remotely.
Trauma-informed training for court staff.
A trial of a single point of contact for victims of sexual offences during the court process.
These may sound like practical changes, but for someone who has experienced sexual violence, practical changes can have a profound emotional impact.
Why does predictability matter?
One of the things trauma can take away is a sense of safety and control.
When someone has experienced rape or sexual abuse, their sense of autonomy and control may already have been significantly affected.
Entering the justice system can sometimes feel like handing even more control over to other people.
When will the hearing be?
What will happen when I arrive?
Who will I see?
Will I have to see the person accused of harming me?
Will I have to tell my story again?
What if the trial is delayed?
What if I am not believed?
These aren’t simply practical questions. They can carry enormous emotional weight.
Giving survivors more certainty about when their case will be heard, providing private spaces within court buildings and making the process easier to understand can help restore some of that sense of control.
The impact of delays
The length of time involved in criminal proceedings can be particularly difficult for survivors of rape and sexual violence.
Government figures show that in 2025, rape cases took an average of 424 days to complete once they reached the Crown Court.
For someone trying to heal from trauma, more than a year of uncertainty can feel like an incredibly long time.
It can mean repeatedly having to put life on hold, preparing emotionally for a trial and then facing further delays or changes.
A fixed trial date doesn’t remove all of the difficulties involved in the justice process, but it could provide something that is incredibly important for survivors:
certainty.
Trauma-informed justice matters
There is an important difference between simply providing a service to someone who has experienced trauma and genuinely understanding how trauma can affect their experience of that service.
Trauma-informed practice recognises that people may respond to difficult situations in ways that aren’t always immediately obvious.
Someone might become withdrawn.
They might struggle to remember information.
They might appear anxious, angry or detached.
They might change their mind about what they want to do.
None of these responses automatically mean that someone is unreliable or doesn’t want justice.
They may simply be responses to overwhelming experiences.
That is why the announcement that court staff will receive trauma-informed training is particularly welcome.
For survivors, being treated with understanding rather than judgement can make an enormous difference.
Choice and control
One of the things I think is particularly important when we talk about these changes is choice.
Survivors deserve to understand what is happening and to have as much control over their experience as possible.
That doesn’t mean being able to control every part of a criminal investigation or trial. There are inevitably legal processes and decisions that sit outside the survivor’s control.
But there is a huge difference between having no control and having meaningful choices wherever possible.
Where will I wait?
How will I give evidence?
Who can support me?
What information will I receive?
What will happen next?
Being given clear information and having choices explained can help someone feel less powerless within a system that can otherwise feel overwhelming.
This isn’t just about courtrooms
It’s also important to recognise that improving the experience of survivors cannot stop at the doors of the courtroom.
The criminal justice process involves many different stages and professionals.
Police.
Prosecutors.
Witness services.
Barristers.
Solicitors.
Court staff.
Judges.
Support workers.
Every interaction matters.
A survivor’s experience of the justice system isn’t created by one individual moment. It is shaped by the cumulative experience of being listened to, believed, informed, supported and treated with dignity.
And when that doesn’t happen, the impact can be significant.
Survivors can experience retraumatisation when systems or processes repeatedly expose them to experiences of fear, powerlessness or lack of control.
My perspective
I have worked with both female and male survivors of rape and sexual abuse since 2009, so this subject is particularly close to me.
I’ve seen how complicated the decision to report abuse can be.
For some people, reporting feels like an important step towards justice.
For others, the thought of entering the criminal justice system can feel too overwhelming.
And some people may choose not to report at all.
There is no single “right” response to trauma.
What matters is that survivors are given information, support and space to make decisions that are right for them.
Is this enough?
I think these changes are a positive step.
But they are a step, rather than the finished picture.
Changing courtrooms and procedures matters, but meaningful change also requires changes in culture, attitudes and understanding.
Survivors need to feel that the system understands trauma.
They need to feel that they will be treated with dignity.
They need clear information about what is happening.
And they need to know that their experiences will not be used against them simply because trauma doesn’t always look the way people expect it to.
The government has also announced reforms aimed at improving the way evidence is dealt with in sexual offence cases, including strengthening protections around previous allegations and sexual history and making special measures easier to access.
There are also wider changes being introduced across the justice system, including a national Early Victims’ Right to Review scheme for rape and serious sexual offence cases. This gives survivors an opportunity to ask for a review before a proposed decision to offer no evidence becomes final.
These changes matter because justice isn’t simply about what happens at the end of a case.
The journey matters too.
A step in the right direction
For survivors of rape and sexual abuse, the justice system can be a daunting place.
Anything that makes that journey more predictable, more understandable and more trauma-informed has the potential to make a real difference.
Specialist courtrooms won’t undo what has happened.
They won’t remove the fear, uncertainty or emotional impact of going through a trial.
But they may help create a justice system where survivors feel less like they are being asked to fit themselves into the system, and more like the system has been designed with their experience in mind.
For me, that is why these changes feel like a step in the right direction.