Since September last year, I've been arguing we need urgent law reform in Scotland to give complainers in sexual offence cases the automatic legal right to anonymity which already applies in the rest of the UK -and almost all of the rest of the common law world.
I'm delighted today to launch a dedicated campaign website with @seonaid90 and our @GCULaw students to press on with the arguments for reform in this new session of Holyrood.
https://twitter.com/Campaign4CA/status/1393119110507253761
We've already made significant progress - raising political consciousness that this is an issue & securing support for change. A commitment to reform was embraced by @theSNP, @ScotTories, @scotlibdems & @scottishgreens manifestos - we hope to hold our MSPs to their promises.
Why does this matter? Last year, it became clear to me that Scotland was out of step with every other part of the UK on this issue. Most people I speak to *think* complainers here already have a right to reporting restrictions in their cases. They do not. researchonline.gcu.ac.uk/en/publication…
Since then, I've been looking at how other legal systems deal with this & have discovered Scotland is not only out of step with England, Wales & NI - but almost every comparative common law jurisdiction you can mention. I discuss this in more detail here:
We can fix this issue. But it is critical we legislate in the right way - respecting the right of complainers to go public if they choose to do so, and share their stories. The Australian #LetHerSpeak campaign illustrates how the law can go wrong here. letusspeak.com.au
I was pleased to be able to share some of the @Campaign4CA's arguments this morning in @thetimesscot Thunderer column. thetimes.co.uk/article/compla…
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