News
15 December, 2025
Susanne Tanner KC’s report on the prosecution of sexual offences in Scotland has been published
Susanne Tanner KC’s report on the way in which Scotland’s independent prosecution service deals with sexual offences has been published.
The review of the approach of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to these cases was commissioned by the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, in December 2021, in recognition of the profoundly damaging impact of sexual offending on victims and society and the disproportionate impact of sexual violence on women and girls.
The vision for the work was a wide-ranging review to take account of a diverse spread of experiences and views, so that it was relevant to as many people, groups and organisations as possible.
The Review’s Terms of Reference were published in November 2022 and the work took place over three years in which there were various political and legal developments in the way in which sexual offences are dealt with.
Ms Tanner KC, the Chair of the Review, said: “One thing remains constant in a changing legal landscape: the need to listen to people and to actually hear what they are saying.”
“A solely inward-looking review would not have met its intended purpose – to produce a prosecution approach to sexual crime which is fit for our age.”
The Review heard hundreds of contributions from victims, third sector support organisations, charities, COPFS staff, prosecutors, defence lawyers, government, police officers, judges, courts service, Bairns’ Hoose, academics and business leaders, in Scotland, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand and the United States.
Ms Tanner said: “Central to our approach was how best to gather and reflect the views and experiences of victims of sexual crime. It is clear from evidence we gathered and from the literature about sexual offences that victims of sexual crime and the third sector organisations supporting them have been saying the same things, in different forums, for what seems like an endless period of time. Nonetheless, it was important for me to meet victims of sexual crime who wanted to take part in the Review and share their experiences of the prosecution process. The victims’ contributions and those of the third sector organisations supporting them were a cornerstone of the Review.’
“I am indebted to the wide range of contributors for their time, support, views, knowledge and expertise. I hope they see their views reflected throughout the report and in many of my recommendations.”
Ms Tanner made 197 recommendations and four observations.
They are wide ranging and include: improved communication with victims; national legal leaders for sexual offences; a ‘lived experience board’ to allow victims to participate in policy development; more effective collaboration with the third sector, police and courts service; wellbeing support for prosecutors and staff; increased accessibility and transparency of COPFS sexual offences policy; embedding trauma-informed practice and the rights of the accused in specialist training for prosecutors and staff; improved record keeping and collection of statistical data on sexual offences; and finding creative and rights’ respecting ways of seeking the views of children and young people.
Review Chair, Susanne Tanner KC, is recognised for her work on high-profile inquiries and reviews. She is ranked as a leading silk in public law, inquiries, investigations and criminal law. She is dual qualified as an advocate in Scotland and a barrister in England & Wales.
She has extensive experience of prosecuting and defending rape and serious sexual offence cases, including a commission as Assistant Principal Crown Counsel, one of the country’s senior prosecutors, and three years as a specialist sexual offences Advocate Depute. She lectures at University of Edinburgh on sexual offending and the law.
She said: “My vision is for COPFS to take a unified approach to sexual offence cases in which staff are empowered through specialist training and welfare support to do a difficult job; in which victims are supported and have their rights respected throughout the prosecution process, while respecting the rights of the accused; and in which there is genuine, positive and effective collaboration with Police Scotland, SCTS, Scottish Government, the third sector and the wider legal profession.”
COPFS, Scotland’s independent prosecution service, has accepted the broad principles of the Review as part of an ongoing programme of change.
Ms Tanner said: “My sincere thanks go to the Review Team – Angela Farrell, Emma Forbes, Mylene Cremers and Connor MacIntyre – for their dedication, support and hard work. I am also extremely grateful for the assistance of Alex Sutherland and Paul Harvey, Advocates; and to Erin Rennie, Glasgow Caledonian University, for her contribution to the literature review. Thanks also to Sam Craib, Mhairi-Clare Collins, Styliana Papachristoforou and Kathryn Wilson, trainee solicitors, who assisted our work and Tammy Hislop, Aslam Ramzan and Lindsay Shields, trainee solicitors, for proof reading.”
Ms Tanner said: “I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to do this work and I hope that my recommendations lead to real, transformative change in the way in which COPFS deals with sexual offences now and in the future.”
To access the Sexual Offences Review Report: https://www.copfs.gov.uk/publications/sexual-offences-review-report/
To access the Summary of Recommendations and Observations: https://www.copfs.gov.uk/publications/sexual-offences-review-report-recommendations-and-observations/