The radical change in law is being considered by the Legislation Committee and would represent a huge change in the way such court cases are reported.At present, victims of sexual offences are granted anonymity for life, with few exceptions.
Those accused of committing a sexual offence, however, have no protection at all and can be named.The recommendation for partial anonymity for defendants has been made by the Attorney General, William Bailhache.He was responding to recommendations on anonymity contained in a recently-published Select Committee report being considered by the UK government.Mr Bailhache’s recommendation, however, goes further than the Select Committee’s conclusions, which are that the identity of defendants should only be protected until they are charged with a sexual offence.The question of anonymity was raised in the UK because of the controversy over the way men – and in particular celebrities – are pilloried when a sexual accusation is made.
