HC Deb 31 March 1993 vol 222 c222W
Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statutory commitments are currently in place to help victims of sexual crimes to resume a normal life; and what plans he has to extend such statutory provision.

Mr. Jack

Some of the most important means of helping victims of all crimes recover from their experiences are non-statutory. These include the work of the national charity Victim Support which, with Home Office funding, provides much-appreciated emotional support and practical help to victims, including victims of rape and other serious crimes of violence. Victims of sexual offences, as of other crimes of violence, are also eligible for compensation from the non-statutory criminal injuries compensation scheme.

Statutory provisions, in addition to the national health service—which may be able to provide counselling for victims—and Department of Social Security benefits, include the power of courts to order offenders to pay compensation to their victims, and protection—for the complainants' lifetime—from publicity in cases of rape and sexual assault.

There are no plans to extend statutory powers in this area.