Today Abigail spoke in Parliament about the police and judicial system failures when it comes to handling sexual assault cases.
Ms ABIGAIL BOYD (18:02):
Sally Dowling, SC, is the very first woman to be appointed to the role of Director of Public Prosecutions. Following a prolonged whisper campaign by a number of judges, including allegations that there is some secret protocol or distortion of process when it comes to the progress of sexual assault cases, the DPP has announced an audit of every sexual assault matter committed for trial in New South Wales. The DPP has labelled the accusations as preposterous. The Greens agree. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has described the comments of one judge as "unfounded and inflammatory", and once again The Greens agree.
The bad faith criticisms from conservative political elements are the last gasps of a previous age where women's bodily autonomy was up for debate. There are undoubtedly real issues facing victim-survivors, preventing them from achieving justice, and that is why The Greens are calling for a whole-of-system review by the Department of Communities and Justice [DCJ] into the entire life cycle of a sexual assault case so that we can really address the barriers to justice as they present themselves to victim-survivors. Currently, victim-survivors face daunting hurdles and biases when seeking justice through legal channels. They are met with scepticism, disbelief, and even hostility from people at all stages in the legal and justice system, including police officers, lawyers and judges. Those people, like many in our society, are embedded within deeply ingrained societal myths and misconceptions surrounding sexual assault, such as victim-blaming attitudes or the false belief that false accusations are common. Moreover, the legal process itself can be re-traumatising for victim-survivors, subjecting them to invasive questioning, character assassination and procedural delays.
The legal system is an adversarial system and the structure can often exacerbate the trauma of victim‑survivors and act as a hindrance to their pursuit of justice. Layered on top of those structural impediments, victim‑survivors can face additional barriers to justice based on their race, class, or gender or sexual identity. It sounds to me like the Director of Public Prosecutions is the only one in the New South Wales justice system who has been paying attention in the last few years and is genuinely believing the stories of victim-survivors and is pursuing justice on their behalf. We should not be asking why the DPP is bringing forward the cases.
We should be asking why police are failing to collect appropriate evidence. We should be asking why judges are deeming traumatised witnesses to be unreliable and why we have so many cases where the decision is made not to proceed to prosecution. The idea that it is just one sector of the justice system where victim-survivors are being let down is a dangerously false narrative. Further discouragement of bringing cases is not the answer. To legitimise the critiques by granting them a parliamentary inquiry would do immense damage. There is already an audit underway and I call on the DCJ and the police to do some real self-reflection on how they can do more to support victim-survivors. It is time for the New South Wales Labor Government to get serious about this issue and stand up for victim-survivors. In the meantime we will not be supporting the motion or the amendment put forward by the Opposition.