Changes in rape offences and sentencing

The numbers of recorded offences of rape in England and Wales have increased greatly over the last decade.

This report investigates such questions as: is there a greater proportion of violent rapes; are there more rapes of the very old or the very young; and has there been an increase in rapes committed by offernders previously known to the victim?

The report considers how far changes in rape sentencing have reflected changes in the nature of the offence and concludes that sentencing became more severe during the period under review.