Lowestoft MP warns justice delays are failing victims ahead of Steve Wright sentencing
This comes 26 years after the case first became active
A Suffolk MP has warned that long waits for court cases are “failing women and girls”, as the county prepares for the sentencing of serial killer Steve Wright.
The Suffolk Strangler is expected to be sentenced today for the kidnapping and murder of Victoria Hall back in 1999.
The Lowestoft MP Jess Asato is calling for action to prevent delays in justice, after Victoria's family waited 26 years to see the killer in court.
Jess Asato, MP for Lowestoft, said delays across the criminal justice system mean many victims are waiting years to see offenders held accountable.
“The biggest difference that we could make to conviction rates and victim confidence would obviously be for victims to be believed when they come forward and for there to be swift justice,” she said.
“Unfortunately, because of the huge underinvestment in our prison estate, in our courts, it means that at the moment many, many women and girls are waiting many, many years to see justice.”
Ms Asato said delays can discourage victims from reporting crimes in the first place.
The Government has recently introduced a sentencing bill aimed at speeding up the justice process and ensuring perpetrators are “held to account for the horrendous crimes they commit,” she said.
"These are issues that affect everyone"
However, the MP stressed that wider reform is still needed to restore confidence.
“The whole system is failing women and girls, whether that is from the police response through to the health response, and of course, the very, very long delays in justice through our court system,” she said.
Ms Asato said the impact of domestic abuse and sexual violence is felt across communities, including in her own constituency.
“I receive many, many constituent emails from women who’ve been victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence, and of course, very, very sadly, parents whose children have been victims of child sexual abuse or child exploitation,” she said.
“These are issues that affect everyone. It isn’t just one part of the country and clearly happens to children in my constituency of Lowestoft.”
The Government has pledged £550 million over the next three years to support specialist domestic abuse and sexual violence services, a move Ms Asato welcomed,but she said sustained investment will be critical.
“The first is to make sure that the specialist domestic abuse and sexual violence services, which support women and girls when they have experienced harm, have got the funding that they need to keep going,” she said.
Ms Asato, who has campaigned on violence against women and girls for more than a decade, recently became an adviser to Health Secretary Wes Streeting on the issue.
“Violence against women and girls is something that I have been campaigning on for over 10 years,” she said.
“And ever since then, I’ve been campaigning to make sure that we can make women and girls safer.”