Reducing Delay, Delivering Justice? Criminal Court Reform and Victim-Survivors of Rape and Sexual Violence

The 2025 Leveson Review proposes significant reforms to criminal procedure in England and Wales, with potentially important consequences for rape and sexual offences. This chapter examines whether its pursuit of greater efficiency can advance, rather than undermine, the justice interests of victim-survivors. Drawing on ‘kaleidoscopic justice’, it argues that reducing court delays may offer significant procedural justice benefits, particularly by reducing the prolonged uncertainty and distress experienced by rape complainants. However, for less serious sexual offences, proposals for juryless trials and greater use of out-of-court disposals may risk symbolically downgrading sexual violence, potentially undermining feminist gains in recognition and criminalisation. The chapter therefore explores the tensions between efficiency, symbolic recognition and victim-survivor justice, asking whether Leveson’s reforms can improve procedural experiences without compromising the status accorded to sexual offending.