MP tells Commons she waited 1,088 days for her rape case to reach court

"I care profoundly about rape victims facing intolerable delays for their day in court. I know only too well what that feels like as after being raped at an event that I attended in my capacity as a member of parliament, I waited 1,088 days to go to court. Every single one of those days was agony made worse by having a role in public life."

"It is because I have endured every indignity that our broken criminal justice system could mete out that I care [that] reform will actually deliver justice for survivors and victims of crime more widely. But experiences like mine feel like they've been weaponised and are being used for rhetorical misdirection."

MP Charlotte Nichols publicly disclosed her experience of being raped at a parliamentary event, revealing a nearly three-year wait before her case reached court. During this extended delay, she endured social media abuse and developed PTSD. Although her accused attacker was acquitted in criminal trial, a civil process resulted in a compensation order recognizing her as a blameless victim. Speaking in Parliament during debate on jury trial changes, Nichols opposed the proposed legislation, arguing the government should prioritize establishing specialist rape courts instead. She criticized the justice secretary for using rape victims' experiences to justify jury trial modifications, emphasizing that meaningful reform must genuinely deliver justice for crime survivors rather than merely expedite proceedings.

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