Rape victims in Sussex are four times less likely to see their attackers brought to justice than in some other parts in the country.

The postcode lottery was exposed by the women's equality group, the Fawcett Society.

Its research showed that only 3% of reported rapes in Sussex resulted in conviction in 2006.

But elsewhere in the country, the figures were much higher, if still relatively low.

In Cleveland, which has a specialist rape victims support centre, it was 13%.

The number of attacks reported has risen over previous years.

In 2004, there were 13,272 reported rapes in England and Wales but that rose to 14,449 in 2006.

Campaigners such as the Fawcett Society blame the criminal justice system for the woefully low rates of conviction.

Last September, the Fawcett Society released statistics that revealed the 3% conviction rate for rape in Sussex was the seventh lowest in Britain, compared with a national average of 5.3%.

Sussex Police responded by claiming the low figure is because many alleged victims were young women who had been drinking and their cases were, therefore, often hard to prove as they could not always recall exactly what had happened.

To improve the care for rape victims and the conviction rates of their attackers, the Fawcett Society is calling for more specialist centres dealing with sexual assaults, such as the one in Cleveland, to be set up.

Labour MP Vera Baird, Solicitor General, said support for victims was patchy and that sweeping reforms were needed.

Among the improvements in the care of rape victims that the society wants to see are more sexual assault referral centres, a 24-hour rape crisis helpline, specially-trained barristers and for individual police officers to see the case through from start to finish.

Home Office figures suggest that 5% of women had been raped since the age of 16, but a survey in 1991 found the figure for rapes and attempted rapes to be as high as 25%.

Sussex Police reported that during the twelve months ending March 31, 2006, there were 426 offences of rape across the county and a further 121 during the following three months up to June 30. Following the release of its findings, the Fawcett Society called on the Home Office to ensure that areas without specialist centres for rape victims were given more resources.

The Home Office is due to publish a rape victims and witnesses strategy soon.

It will focus on ensuring that the victim of a rape is included more in the police investigation and a rape helpline may soon also be set up. A Home Office spokesman said the changes were among the issues being dealt with by a new cross-government ministerial group on sexual offending.

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