Today in Parliament, Abigail passed a motion acknowledging the Australian Law Reform Commission’s 2025 report on systemic failures in addressing sexual violence and called on the NSW Government to take urgent action to resolve persistent barriers to justice.

Abigail said:

I move:

(1)     That this House notes that according to the Australian Law Reform Commission in its report entitled “Safe, informed, supported: Reforming justice responses to sexual violence” published in January 2025:

• sexual violence occurs in almost all areas of Australian life and causes significant harm to individuals, families and society, and yet few people who experience sexual violence engage with the justice system,
• 9 out of 10 women who have experienced sexual violence do not report to the police and, where there is engagement with the justice system, that engagement is usually short-lived,
• between 75 to 85% of reports to police do not proceed to charge, and even fewer reports proceed to court. Once in court, many victim-survivors report being re-traumatised and mistreated by the system and often encounter myths and misconceptions about sexual violence,
• across all jurisdictions, the justice system is failing to meet the twin goals of access to justice and accountability; it is neither supporting those who have experienced sexual violence to engage with the justice system, nor is it holding those who use sexual violence to account, and
• ending sexual violence requires substantial action from almost every government system.

(2)     That this House further notes that the ALRC made 64 recommendations for the Commonwealth, states and territories, including the following recommendations which are actionable by the NSW Government:

• the Australian Government, together with state and territory governments, should fund relevant organisations (including sexual violence services, community legal centres, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, Legal Aid Commissions, and participating legal firms) to provide Independent Legal Services, Justice System Navigators and Safe Places to Disclose,
• state and territory governments should each establish and fund an independent taskforce with specialist and diverse sector expertise to review reports of sexual violence made to police that don’t progress to charge, and develop models for independent, ongoing review mechanisms for reports of sexual violence that the police do not progress to charge,
• state and territory governments should each establish and fund an independent centralised feedback mechanism for complainants of sexual violence to report their experience of the criminal justice system,
• the Commonwealth, and those states and territories that do not currently have a legislated victims’ charter, should enact such a charter,
• people who work in the criminal justice system and have relevant involvement in sexual violence matters, including judicial officers; court staff; prosecutors and in-house witness assistance officers; defence lawyers; and police officers, should receive properly resourced and evidence-based education about myths and misconceptions as well as training about trauma-informed and culturally safe practices developed with input from experts, representatives and people with lived experience,
• federal, state, and territory police agencies and the Offices of the Directors of Public Prosecutions should prepare or review and update their guidelines on responding to complainants of sexual violence to ensure that their guidelines address relevant matters,
• federal, state, and territory police agencies, the Offices of the Directors of Public Prosecutions, and state and territory courts should ensure their online information on processes about sexual offence matters are accessible, trauma-informed and kept up to date,
• federal, state, and territory police agencies should ensure that trauma-informed environments are available for interviewing complainants of sexual violence, including the provision of a comfortable space, privacy, the ability to accommodate a support person or victim advocate and disability access,
• the Commonwealth, states and territories should review and amend legislation, and courts should amend court rules, to implement flexible measures for victims to make and deliver victim impact statements,
• jurisdictions that have recently adopted affirmative models of consent should evaluate these reforms within five years of the reforms commencing, to ensure that a best practice affirmative model of consent is identified for the purposes of national harmonisation, and
• the Commonwealth, states, and territories should, where necessary, adopt, or review and amend, legislation to make restorative justice for sexual violence widely available, and ensure restorative justice is properly resourced and supported by wrap around services.

(3)     That this House recognises with concern the significant systemic barriers to reporting sexual violence and engaging with the justice system which continue to prevent victim-survivors from receiving justice, oftentimes causing further harm and re-traumatisation.

(4)     That this House calls on the NSW Government to urgently respond to the ALRC’s findings in relation to the experience of sexual violence victim-survivors with the justice system, and take relevant action.

Motion agreed to.

Read the transcript in Hansard here.

25 March 2025