Victoria’s Government has introduced new laws to improve legal and court processes for victim-survivors of family violence, sexual offences, and stalking.
Under legislation tabled on Tuesday, witnesses and alleged victims would only be required to give evidence during court proceedings, not during pre-trial hearings.
The measure is aimed at avoiding processes that require alleged victim-survivors to re-live trauma by making them repeat their testimony.
Context
A recent report from Victoria’s Victims of Crime Commissioner found that 75% of victim-survivors felt concerned about their safety in court.
It also found that less than a third of victim-survivors who gave evidence in a Victorian court would be willing to do it again.
Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said the State Government has introduced reforms aimed at “modernising” and “streamlining” legal processes for “survivors of sexual offences, stalking and family violence”.
The Victorian Government has introduced several reforms, including plans to “ban traumatic cross-examinations during committal hearings.”
It’s also proposed making videolink court appearances the default for alleged offenders of violent and sexual crimes.
It says this would help victims to avoid unnecessarily coming face to face with alleged perpetrators.
Child victims
The proposed measures include new protections for child victims and witnesses of violent and sexual crimes.
The reforms would allow young people, as well as “those with cognitive impairments, ” to give
“prerecorded video evidence” instead of having to deliver multiple testimonies.
The Government says these reforms will reduce the “time and stress” of hearing processes for victims and witnesses.
The Victorian Government said the legislation will help protect victims from “further trauma”.
It said the proposal “balances the interests of the witnesses, the prosecution and the public with the rights of the accused.”
Symes said survivors “deserve justice, not further trauma” as they move through the legal system.
“These reforms will ease the burden of repeated testimony”.
Opposition
Victoria’s Shadow Attorney-General Michael O’Brien questioned whether the State Government “has got the detail [of the legislation] right.”
O’Brien told TDA: “Given Victoria has some of the worst court backlogs in the country, it is vital that any new legislation will enable justice to be delivered more swiftly, rather than further complicating the legal process”.
Victoria’s Labor Government does not have a majority in the state’s Upper House. It will need support from the Coalition or other minor parties to pass the legislation.
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