What needs to change? What’s missing? MoJ seeking feedback on its new info guides
Category | information-exchange
- Agency:
- Male Survivors Partnership
- Area:
- london
- Contact:
- Jonny Gutteridge
- Email:
- hello@malesurvivor.co.uk
You have a chance to influence the content of nine new info guides under development by the Ministry of Justice Sexual Violence Policy and Commissioning Team. The team have asked us to publicise the chance for you to feed back in a (short) consultation phase, ideally to get back to them by September 28th, though I’ll ask for more time) midnight September 30th (we got more time).
The guides listed below are clearly not yet fully worked up, so it seems like a good opportunity to influence ethos, tone and content. I suggest emailing your content to Lorna Dovey at the MoJ at Lorna.Dovey2@justice.gov.uk and to copy in hello@malesurvivor.co.uk.
This is from Lorna:
“As part of the September 2019 Rape Victims’ Pledge, the Ministry of Justice have developed a series of nine information guides for victims of sexual violence. These guides have been developed with the intention of providing clear and concise information on each stage of a victim’s journey, from experiencing the crime to a victim’s experience post court. The guides have been developed in conjunction with criminal justice agencies and are intended to be as accessible as possible, avoiding any confusing language. We [ie the MoJ, not MSP] are also working with the Victims’ Commissioner to finalise the guides.
The guides cover the following topics:
Guide 1 – Being Sexually Assaulted
Guide 2 – Support Following a Sexual Assault
Guide 3 – Reporting a Recent Sexual Assault to the Police
Guide 4 – Reporting a Sexual Assault to the Police that Happened a While Ago
Guide 5 – Collecting and Sharing Evidence
Guide 6 – Investigating and Prosecuting a Case
Guide 9 – Claiming Compensation for a Sexual Assault
Please note: we will also be producing an easy-read version of the CPS guidance on pre-trial therapy once the public consultation on the revised guidance is complete. This will function as ‘guide ten’ and will be referenced in the other guides where relevant.
How to provide feedback
We would like to seek views on the following questions:
- Are there any stages of the process missing that should be included in a guide, or any guides which are not relevant?
- Do the guides cover the essential information that a victim would need to help them understand what may happen at each stage of the process, and why?
- Is the information as simple and accessible as it could be? If not, what specifically needs to change?
- Is the tone and language used appropriate? If not, what specifically needs to change?
- If the guides were available in physical copies, where would be the most suitable and accessible location(s)?
We would be grateful for views on these questions, or feedback more generally on how the guides could be improved, by midnight on Monday 28 September to Lorna.Dovey2@justice.gov.uk. This will enable us to publish the guides as soon as possible, and ensure that this guidance is available help support victims.
Many thanks, we look forward to hearing your feedback.
Lorna Dovey
Sexual Violence Policy and Commissioning Team, Ministry of Justice”
Having had a brief look at the guides, I’d say it’s worth your time reviewing where the MoJ have got to and giving some clear feedback on both what they’ve got right and where you see a need for improvement.
Jonny