Exclusive:'I am desperate for this to be over': The harrowing testimony from rape victims waiting for justice
Harrowing testimony of victims details impact of justice delays
From years-long trauma and suicidal thoughts to lost earnings and lives effectively placed in limbo, the legacy of delays in Scotland’s criminal justice system exacts a heavy price on victims of serious sexual offences.
Several survivors spoke to Rape Crisis Scotland about the impact of the delays on their lives as they wait for the wheels of justice to turn. Their testimony reveals in harrowing detail the suffering involved in waiting for cases to conclude.
As part of Justice Denied, a week-long series scrutinising systemic pressures in the justice system, The Scotsman previously reported how the median High Court wait from offence to verdict in non-historic ‘group two’ sexual offences - which includes rape and sexual assault - has jumped from 577 to 1,034 days between the second quarter of 2019/20 and the same period in 2024/25. The delays also extend to solemn business across Scotland's sheriff courts, where the median offence to verdict timescale has gone up from 456 to 674 days.
One survivor, who worked in the NHS, said that three years after contacting police, she had been left robbed of self-confidence. She told Rape Crisis Scotland the process led to her leaving her role in the health service and going from one job to the next, before finally being unable to work at all.
“I am in floods of tears most days, struggling to hang on to any of my previous attributes,” she said. “I used to save lives and now I consider taking my own life on a frequent basis. Being stuck in a system that favours the accused, with little or no information on what is happening next, is no way to live.”
In a stark example of the deleterious mental toll of the delays, another woman told the charity the wait for her case to come to court was “doing my head in”. “I am cracking up,” she said. “It's like I am standing in the middle of the road and a big logistics lorry is going to come and run me down.”
Another survivor said that more than 1,300 days had passed since she reported her case to the police, meaning that when the case comes to court, she will be reciting a rape that took place several years previously. “I am frightened that I will make mistakes when giving my evidence because it has taken so long,” she said. “I am desperate for this to be over … it’s impossible to heal from the abuse when the court case is still ongoing.”
One woman pointed to how the fact the delays in her cases were impacting not only her, but members of her family, with relatives postponing a wedding until the case was concluded. “These are all personal things, but it proves just how many people get affected,” she said.
If you need help, you can call Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline on 08088 01 03 02. Samaritans can also help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, via its helpline, 116 123.