Specialist courts to tackle rape and sexual offences cases will be introduced in England and Wales, the prime minister has announced.
In the next two years, crown courts will be set up to have at least one courtroom dedicated to hearing such cases, officials said.
Court staff will be given “trauma-informed training” and each survivor will be assigned a single person of contact.
Victims will be offered a private entrance and private waiting room to keep them away from the defendant. This is something people already have the right to request, but currently depends upon availability.
From October, trials will be given a fixed date rather than placed on floating lists in what the Prime Minister described as an effort to “rebalance the scales of justice and put victims first.”
Charlotte Nichols MP, spoke publicly in the House of Commons about her experience of being raped at a work event.
The changes come as part of a package of measures, expected to cost around £23 million from the Ministry of Justice budget.
It is one in a series of pledges aimed at tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), which Labour promised in its 2024 manifesto to halve within a decade.
The government credited Labour MP Charlotte Nichols’ “immense strength and bravery” during its announcement, after she spoke publicly about being raped and called for changes to a backlogged system.
In March, Ms Nichols waived her automatic right to anonymity in a powerful Commons speech where she described having to wait more than 1,000 days to go to court.
She said the changes promised on Monday were a “hugely important milestone” which would help improve the experience of those who are “all too often retraumatised by seeking justice.”
“I’m proud that substantive meaningful change has come from waiving my anonymity to speak about my own experiences," Ms Nichols added.
She thanked the prime minister and Lord Chancellor for their support and said: "I know the difference these measures would have made for me and for so many of the survivors I have worked with in recent years.”
Burnham said: “For too long, victims of rape and serious sexual offences have felt let down by our justice system. Prosecution rates for rape remain shamefully low, with many victims waiting years for justice.
“This is not good enough. That’s why we are making major changes to rebalance the scales of justice and put victims first."
The prime minister said although changes are "long overdue and will make a significant difference", "focusing on prosecution alone will not be enough."
He said: "As well as ensuring victims get justice, we will step up action to prevent these horrific crimes from happening in the first place.”
Rape Crisis England and Wales welcomed the measures as a “significant step forward for our justice system” that would bring into force a number of reforms the organisation has been calling for over many years.
Chief executive Ciara Bergman said the announcements "reflect the urgency of ensuring that courts are fit for purpose and properly meet the needs of victims and survivors, which is crucial to securing justice.”
The Tories said tackling delays to criminal rape trials was “long overdue” and pushed Labour to commit to scrapping plans to restrict jury trials more widely announced under Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: “The fact that victims have been withdrawing their cases because they have taken too long has been a disgrace.
“Labour need to get courts sitting throughout the year, end the delays and clear the backlog – not undermine our right to a trial by jury.”