There are many reasons you may no longer want to go to court to help the prosecution convict the defendant.
Going to court to face your abuser can be scary. There are special measures that the court can take to make it easier for you.
You may just have changed your mind. If so, you should tell the police officer looking after your case as soon as possible.
It’s important to know that if you decide to withdraw your witness statement, it doesn’t always mean that the case will be dropped.
Firstly, the police will want to know why you’ve changed your mind. It’s a criminal offence for someone to put pressure or frighten a witness, and they’ll want to make sure this hasn’t happened to you.
It could be a serious matter if you say you changed your mind because you lied about what happened. The police may charge you with perverting the course of justice or wasting police time – which are both criminal offences.
Your case may go ahead anyway if the police think it’s serious and they have enough evidence without your help. They can also force you to go to court by issuing a witness summons.
If your case is withdrawn, you won’t be able to get a restraining order against the defendant. But you may still get legal protection from the family courts.