Petition · past parliament
Stop access to counselling notes, by the defence, in sexual assault cases.
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Approximately 85,000 women and 12,000 men are raped or sexually assaulted in England and Wales each year; that works out at roughly 11 assaults (of adults alone) every hour.
This petition is to stop access to victims' private counselling notes, by the defence, in rape and sexual assault cases.
This petition is to stop access to victims' private counselling notes, by the defence, in rape and sexual assault cases.
Only 15% of sexual violence is reported to the police and approximately 90% of those who are raped know the perpetrator prior to the offence.
A victim of a crime of this nature should be able to speak emotionally and freely in a safe space, with a counselor, without being worried about potential repercussions in court.
A victim of a crime of this nature should be able to speak emotionally and freely in a safe space, with a counselor, without being worried about potential repercussions in court.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 25 Apr 2018 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 9 Jul 2018 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
9 Jul 2018
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.