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Foreword
Foreword
SUMMER 2023
I am delighted by the news of Dame Sue Carr accepting the role of Lord Chief Justice, leader of the judiciary, from October this year. As the first woman to hold this role, dating back to the thirteenth century, it is recognised as a momentous appointment and rightly welcomed. I’m struck that constitutionally the role title currently only allows for ‘Lord’, and it has been indicated that there may be a change in the title depending on the wishes of Dame Carr. It raises the issue of the importance of language. In the past and currently, there are some women who are comfortable with ‘Chairman’ or other traditional male titles for roles, seeing the masculine form as denoting either a male or female appointee. Even if initially, it sounds unusual for traditionalists, my view is that the title should clearly reflect all genders or, if that is not possible, it adapts to the occupier of the role. For me, the use of ‘Lord’ suggests it is primarily appropriate for a man to hold the role, which may limit some people’s ambitions.
The appointment is a further step in increasing the gender diversity of the judiciary. Women account for 35% of judges in our courts, although many of these judges sit in the lower courts. In the senior courts there is still a marked discrepancy in the numbers of women and men holding roles as judges and in the Supreme Court of the UK and Northern Ireland, there is only one female Supreme Court Judge (Lady Justice Rose). It is estimated that it will be another decade before half of the judiciary are female, which would reflect their number in society. We will keep an eye on any developments for future editions.
This summer issue tackles the incredibly difficult topic of sexual offences and justice. Whilst everyone wants a fair process and outcome, there are absolutely no easy answers. Dr Molly Bellamy has explored this with leading lawyers, academics and those who have been victims of sexual offences. These in-depth interviews will be spread over three issues to capture what is at stake: is it true that juries are too biased in rape trials? Does it make it less or more likely that bias is avoided if a single judge hears the case? What would be the impact for criminal trials in general?
#Me Too has highlighted the prevalence and multifariousness of sexual abuse which has resulted in many heated discussions. As well as the criminal process being examined, it’s put under the spotlight the inappropriate use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to cover up sexual attacks. We have an insight to the campaign of Can’t Buy My Silence (www. cantbuymysilence.com).
We are extremely grateful to the amazing support groups who have permitted us to reproduce artwork and poems in this edition. including the Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (CRASAC) who have provided the cover and banners taken from their 40th anniversary exhibition of survior's artwork. Using creativity to process these experiences is one way of moving forward for some. For anyone needing support, we have listed some websites on page 23 which might assist ■
