Last week the Federal Attorney General tabled the much-awaited report by the Australia Law Reform Commission (ALRC) into reforming justice responses to sexual violence. A funding package was also announced.
Click here to read the ALRC report: Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence (ALRC Report 143)
The ALRC report found that the justice system is failing victim-survivors of sexual assault and has made 64 recommendations to Federal and State Governments to reform the system. As an initial response to the Report, the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing supports recommendations to create positive improvements to the current justice system so long as they are fully resourced and implemented in partnership with the specialist sexual violence sector and victim-survivors.
CWSW is concerned about the narrow scope of the recommended Justice System Navigators to be embedded only in the legal system. We have advocated for these roles to sit within specialist sexual assault services (rather than just the legal system) to walk alongside victim-survivors and provide emotional and practical support throughout their entire journey. The ALRC considers “under-engagement with the justice system to be the most significant problem with…sexual violence”. Given the very low rates of engagement with the legal system, CWSW insists that “justice navigators” must have a remit beyond the criminal justice system and they must sit within specialist sexual assault support services who are accessible and well-established in their communities, provide ‘inherent security’ and are able to identify and respond to a person’s particular needs and experiences; and are more aware of the community-specific risks in seeking support.
CWSW is also concerned with recommendations relating to restorative justice. The failings of mainstream Western criminal justice systems in dealing with sexual violence cases, including the potential revictimisation and retraumatisation, are well established. Accordingly, demand has grown for alternative justice mechanisms. CWSW’s support for restorative justice in cases of sexual offending is contingent on the process being specialised, victim/survivor-led and developed specifically to respond to the particular issues and dynamics of sexual violence. Specialist training will be necessary for restorative practitioners who deal with such cases. It will also require a clearly defined evidence base. Going forward, we would contend that more empirical evidence is needed to examine best practices and how to safely implement this without revictimising or retraumatising victim-survivors.
Importantly, the absence of a funding package for frontline specialist sexual assault services is a glaring omission. As has been recommended time and time again, we cannot have change to the justice process without significant funding for specialist sexual assault services. Many of these recommendations have been made in previous inquiries and reviews. It’s time to turn words into action. We strongly encourage the incoming WA Government to act on the recommendations directed to the State quickly to enact meaningful change for victim-survivors in a timely manner.
