SEXUAL history and character of victims should not be allowed to be used as evidence in rape cases following the publication of “worrying figures”, a support charity has said.

Rape Crisis Scotland told Holyrood’s Justice Committee the laws regarding the use of such evidence should be reviewed after being highlighted by the recent high-profile retrial of footballer Ched Evans.

Mr Evans was cleared of rape at Cardiff Crown Court earlier this month, after a trial in which evidence was heard from two men who had sex with the complainant around the time of the allegation.

The case has led to calls for a ban on the use of sexual history in sexual offence trials amid claims it is a “human rights” issue.

National co-ordinator for the charity Sandy Brindley described what happened to the woman in that case as a “complete travesty”, as she questioned the effectiveness of legislation governing the practice in Scotland.

The Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2002 sets out that sexual history or character evidence will only be allowed if the judge is satisfied it is relevant to whether the accused is guilty of the offence, and that its value is likely to outweigh any risk of prejudice.

A Scottish Government-commissioned evaluation in 2007 found seven out of 10 trials featured an application to introduce such evidence, with only seven per cent of these applications refused.

Ms Brindley, giving evidence in the committee’s inquiry into the role of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, told MSPs: “The most recent evidence we have about how effective it (the legislation) is is now 10 years old. It painted a worrying picture.”

She added: “Seven out of 10 women are virtually guaranteed to be asked about their sexual history or character in the course of a rape trial. I think that should concern us all.

“I think it is prejudicial potentially to jurors. I think it puts women off reporting. We just need to look at the recent Ched Evans case. Our view was that it was a complete travesty what happened to the woman in that case.”

A data exercise by the Government in the first three months of 2016 found there were 57 applications to lead sexual history or character evidence in trials in Scottish courts. Of these, 51 were unopposed, 43 were granted in full, and five in part.

Referring to those figures, Ms Brindley said: “On the face of it, it is worrying to see such a high success rate and such a low level of opposition to these applications.

“But really it is pretty meaningless data without any context, because it is possible that some or many of these applications were legitimate or were made by the Crown.

“So I really do think we need to have an independent, proper evaluation of how this legislation is working.”