Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
Sexual offences account for just under 1% of all notifiable offences and have been increasing over the past decade (Home Office, 1993). However, the official statistics on rape prevalence grossly underestimate the extent of the problem; many cases of non-consensual intercourse are not reported or prosecuted; about one-third of reported serious sexual offences are ‘no crimed’ by the police, and many rape offences are reduced to lesser charges through the practice of plea bargaining. Only a small minority of alleged rapists are eventually convicted and receive a custodial sentence (Gregory & Lees, 1996).
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