JURIES should be given advice about the “myths and stereotypes” of rape at the start of trials to help avoid confusion, two senior legal figures said yesterday.

Director of Public Prosecutions Alison Saunders and Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead for adult sex offences Martin Hewitt have called for judges to warn juries about misconceptions people have about rape before they can hear any evidence. 

The two experts are heading a task force to investigate the fall in numbers of successful rape prosecutions and what can be done to reverse it.

There were 2,300 rape convictions in 2013, compared with 2,433 in 2010, according to the Crown Prosecution Service and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and there were 129 fewer rape suspects were convicted in 2013 than in 2012.