Question reference: S5W-36115
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 11 March 2021
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will give complainers of sexual offences the right to anonymity.
Answer
In sexual offence cases, there can be a legal right of anonymity for sexual offence complainers, but this requires a decision by a court to be made to protect a person's identity in a given case. Separate from this, there is a long-standing non-statutory protocol operated by the media not to name complainers in sexual offence cases.
Lady Dorrian's independent review on the management of sexual offence cases was published on 18 March 2021. The review recommends that complainer anonymity in rape or other sexual offence cases is put on a statutory footing. We will give the report and its recommendations careful consideration as we look to build on actions already taken to improve the support provided to all participants in sexual offence cases and to promote efficient case management. Decisions on implementation of the report will be a matter for the incoming Administration.