Observation of Rape and Sexual Assault Cases

• Researchers at the University of Oxford are asking adult victims and survivors for their permission to observe rape and sexual assault trials and section 28 hearings at Leeds and Snaresbrook Crown Court.
• This includes cases where victims and survivors give ‘live’ evidence in the courtroom, testify from another building, or give pre-recorded evidence.

• ‘Specialist Sexual Violence Support’ (SSVS) courts were set up in 2022 in Leeds, Newcastle and Snaresbrook Crown Court.
• We’re interested in victims and survivors’ experiences of these courts, what support they are receiving and how they are treated.
• The study will help develop trauma-informed specialist courts for victims and survivors in the UK and internationally.

• Very little is known about SSVS courts and what victims and survivors think about them. Observing cases at Leeds and Snaresbrook will help us to understand how these courts work in practice.

Sexual offence trials are open to the public but we know that victims and survivors may feel uncomfortable giving evidence if there are other people in the courtroom.

That’s why we want to tell you about the study and ask for your permission to observe proceedings.

• We’re asking people who work in the criminal justice system (ISVAs, Witness Care Officers, Victim Liaison Officers, the Witness Service and Crown Prosecutors) to share our Court Observation Leaflet with victims and survivors and tell them about the study.
• We’re not approaching victims and survivors directly, but we do have an ‘observation’ webpage for them to ask any questions they may have and give permission directly: law.ox.ac.uk/care-in-the-courtroom/observation. 

Yes. If you are interested in talking to us directly, speak to your local Rape Crisis centre, email us, or get in touch using via the ‘participation’ webpage of the project website: law.ox.ac.uk/care-in-the-courtroom/participation.

• Only one researcher will be in the courtroom.
• We will sit quietly taking notes during the case.
• We would like to observe you give evidence in court as well as the rest of the trial.
• We won’t talk to anyone in the public gallery.

• We will make notes of any support or special measures you receive, how these work, and the way you are questioned.
• We are also interested in how the prosecution and defence describe what happened to you and talk about the evidence you give.

Dr Natalie Kyneswood is observing sexual offence cases at Leeds Crown Court. She is a researcher at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford.

Dr Alma Ionescu is observing cases at Snaresbrook Crown Court. She is a researcher at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies.

• No. It’s completely up to you to decide if you want us to observe and take notes. We will not observe without your permission.
• If you change your mind, you can ask us to remove your case from the study at any point before the end of April 2026 and we’ll delete any notes made.

If you’re happy for us to observe, there are no risks or disadvantages. It won’t affect the case. You may feel comforted in knowing that a researcher is present in the courtroom and that we will try use the case study to shape the development of specialist sexual offence courts for victims and survivors.

• We will use notes from cases we observe to publish a report, an article, and a briefing for victims and survivors on specialist sexual offence courts.
• It should not be possible for someone to identify you in documents we publish.
• We will quote from case notes but we will never name you, or anyone else involved, and we will remove details that could identify you.

• Your information will be stored on University of Oxford password protected computer servers. It will be kept securely for 3 years after we publish the findings. Only researchers involved in the project will have access to it during this time.
• At the end of the study, we’ll deposit case notes in the Oxford University Research Archive and the UK Data Archive, so other researchers can refer to them, but only if you give us permission to do so.

Fill out the contact form on our project website.

Speak to your ISVA, Witness Care Officer, Victim Liaison Officer, the Witness Service, or Crown Prosecutor.

Email us directly:

• natalie.kyneswood@csls.ox.ac.uk (for Newcastle or Leeds)
• alma.ionescu@csls.ox.ac.uk (for Snaresbrook, London)

This research is funded by Wellcome and has received ethics approval from the University of Oxford Social Sciences and Humanities Interdivisional Research Ethics Committee. Dr Natalie Kyneswood is the Principal Investigator. 

Contact Rape Crisis anytime day or night: 0808 500 2222 or via the online chat: 247sexualabusesupport.org.uk.