Wednesday, 9 March 2022

Statements on reports, papers and petitions

Victorian Law Reform Commission

Improving the Justice System Response to Sexual Offences

Ms MAXWELL (Northern Victoria) (17:17): I am pleased to speak on the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s report Improving the Justice System Response to Sexual Offences. The reality that one in five women over the age of 15 experiences sexual assault in their lifetime and that over 85 per cent of these assaults are not reported to police was a sobering place for the VLRC to commence this review. Very recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on sexual assault offences across Australia demonstrates the seriousness of offending. One in three prisoners serving time for sexual assault in Australia had been previously incarcerated, and a third had faced action from police for sexual assault or other offences in the year prior. The crimes of more than half of offenders were serious enough to require hearing in higher courts.

Many victims report that our system is a legal system instead of a justice system, and some of the 91 recommendations in this VLRC report point to increasing accountability for perpetrators of sexual violence and give choice and support for victims. The report clearly articulates that victims should have specific rights in the Victims’ Charter Act 2006. We will keep fighting for those. Research and data is identified as a priority, something Mr Grimley raised in this Parliament in his motion last year. Understanding and sharing information about the context and patterns of sexual violence and how—I sometimes wonder if—we can change behaviour should be a goal of the government’s sexual assault strategy. As the report says, we need data on what is working and what needs fixing.

We welcome the government’s commitment to bringing legislation requiring affirmative consent and to create an offence against stealthing. The responsibility of individuals needs to be clearly spelt out through our laws and our education systems, in our homes and in our public discourse. From that affirmative consent perspective too I hope there is further change to protect victims from having their background or their physical presentation dragged through the mud in court proceedings. I know we have made some progress in this area, but it still unfortunately happens. I regularly hear from survivors that the way they are questioned or advised in court proceedings or in public commentary really amounts to another form of victim blaming. If a victim appears stoic in court or in any other manner of setting, there is an assumption that they are not suffering any trauma, that it must not have been that bad or that they were somehow complicit or consenting. Why aren’t we congratulating them for surviving in such an incredibly courageous way? We need to recognise this as a strength of victims and not brand it as a weakness or let it somehow shift blame or downplay an offender’s accountability.

The review made key recommendations relating to forensic examinations, police responses and reporting. I will say at this point that in regional areas access to forensic medical services is scarce or completely lacking. Often victims need to travel to Melbourne. I know in the case of one young victim-survivor it was a 48-hour process from her assault to examination and initial interview. This was exhausting after an already traumatic experience. We can do a lot better for victims in this regard.

There are opportunities to improve the skills of people working in the criminal justice system, and this report makes solid recommendations that I hope the government will embrace. This is complex work, and it needs a specialised criminal justice workforce that complements the framework of our specialised courts. The commission has recommended a review of appeals and the evaluation of reforms to tendency and coincidence evidence, which is something I raised in this Parliament last sitting with respect to offending in the context of family violence. There are other recommendations relating to jury directions, use of experts and courtroom culture that are key to improving our justice system.

There is so much to say about this report and how we respond to sexual offending in general. As a key policy area of Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party, it is something that we will come back to time and time again. As the VLRC duly noted, sexual violence is a public wrong that the state must redress, and our dealing with sexual violence in the criminal justice system signals our condemnation of violence and holds those responsible to account. The system needs to meet the needs of victim-survivors. Reform needs to be practical and measurable, and we share the hope of the VLRC that the government takes this opportunity to improve the way Victoria responds to sexual violence.