Minister responsible for plan says she remains concerned about evidence juries may be influenced by rape myths

The Scottish government has scrapped a pilot of juryless trials for rape cases, which aimed to tackle endemic low conviction rates for sexual assault prosecution, after a backlash from the highest levels of the legal profession.

Campaigners against sexual violence expressed disappointment that the proposal, which would have made Scotland the first part of the UK to use specialist courts and judge-only trials for serious sexual assaults, had been dropped.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html