Closed petition Prohibit questions in court about the sexual history of rape complainants

Closed on 1 February 2024

Section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 bans questions about sexual behaviour of complainants, but courts can allow such questions in certain circumstances. For rape cases, we only want questions about sexual relations between the complainant and defendant to be permissible.

We believe this legislation is being interpreted and applied inconsistently, and that courts should not be able to permit questions about sexual behaviour of complainants, with the exception of those with the accused. What the complainant did in the past has no relevance to the defence case of the accused.
By amending Section 41 all complainants in rape cases would be treated in the same way and would not have to fear being humiliated in court about something they may or may not have done in the past. This may encourage more complainants to engage with the court system.