New Legal Advisors Service for Rape Victims: What the Expansion of Operation Soteria Mean
The UK Government has announced a new national Legal Advisors service for rape victims, alongside plans to expand Operation Soteria into the courtroom.
The initiative aims to ensure victims have dedicated legal advice throughout the criminal justice process, while reforms to Operation Soteria seek to shift the focus of rape trials away from scrutinising victims and towards examining the behaviour of perpetrators.
The announcement, published by the UK Government, represents another step in efforts to improve how the justice system supports survivors and handles sexual violence cases.
Why It Matters
The Community Safety Context
For many survivors of rape and sexual violence, navigating the criminal justice system can be overwhelming.
Victims often face challenges such as:
Understanding complex legal procedures
Accessing consistent support during investigations and court proceedings
Fear of being judged or blamed
Reliving traumatic experiences through questioning and evidence processes
The introduction of dedicated legal advisors aims to provide independent guidance to help victims understand their rights, options and protections throughout the process.
At the same time, expanding Operation Soteria into the courtroom reflects a growing recognition that rape investigations and trials should focus more clearly on perpetrator behaviour and patterns of offending, rather than placing undue scrutiny on victims.
imabi’s View
For many survivors, the hardest step is not navigating the court process - it is deciding to come forward in the first place.
Years of low charging rates, long investigations and difficult courtroom experiences have left many victims feeling that reporting sexual violence may not lead to justice or support. In that context, measures that provide independent legal guidance and shift the focus towards the perpetrator’s behaviour are an important step forward. But rebuilding trust takes time…
Survivors often make their first decisions about reporting long before the justice system becomes involved: when speaking to a friend, contacting a support organisation, or considering whether to log what happened at all.
This is why accessible, trusted and non-judgemental reporting routes matter. When people know where they can turn, and feel confident they will be supported rather than scrutinised, they are more likely to speak up.
At imabi, our focus is to make it easier and safer for people to raise concerns, access guidance and connect with trusted support.
For that reason, the imabi platform does not track users in the background. Instead, individuals remain fully in control of their safety:
choosing who they share their location with
deciding when sharing starts
controlling how long it lasts
By putting control firmly in the hands of the individual, safety technology can support people without undermining their autonomy.
Source: gov.uk, March, 2026