Overview
- The Office of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime released a nearly 300‑page report with 43 recommendations to improve justice for sexual‑violence survivors.
- Among 1,000 survivors surveyed, 93% feared police disbelief, only 51% reported to police, and 102 trials produced 70 convictions.
- The report links trial delays to the 2016 Jordan ruling, noting more than 268 sexual‑assault cases stayed since then and that sexual‑assault matters were most likely to be stayed or withdrawn in 2022–23.
- Proposed reforms include setting statutory criteria before courts grant delay stays, tightening access to therapeutic records, making testimonial aids automatic, and ending police use of KGB statements.
- Operational gaps include limited access to evidence kits and trained staff, with 41% of hospitals and health centres lacking one or the other, and the report urges implementing MMIWG Calls for Justice; no federal response was reported at release.