‘Worrying trend’ of legal threats against sexual assault survivors, says Jess Phillips

Cease and desist letters mean cases often don’t reach court, say experts, amid calls for law to be reformed

A rise in cease and desist letters being issued to survivors of sexual assault is having a chilling effect on women who speak out about sexual violence, the shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding has said.

Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Yardley, alongside leading women’s rights experts and lawyers, has said that the threat of legal action is being used to silence women. They say cease and desist letters in some cases are the first step to filing a defamation claim in the civil courts.