Sexual consent laws will be strengthened and simplified under NSW Government reforms designed to protect victim-survivors and educate the community.
\nAttorney General Mark Speakman acknowledged the growing calls across the community for reforms to respond more effectively to the scourge of sexual violence in this country.
\n\u201cNo law can ever erase the trauma of sexual assault, but we can send the message that survivors\u2019 calls for reform have been heard,\u201d Mr Speakman said.
\nThe key reforms include stipulating that:<\/p>\n
The reforms<\/a>\u00a0respond to recommendations made in\u00a0NSW Law Reform Commission (LRC) Report<\/a>\u00a0148. In May 2018, Mr Speakman asked the LRC to review consent laws. The LRC\u2019s final report was published in November 2020, following significant community engagement with this issue. \u201cThese directions will support complainants by ensuring their evidence will be assessed fairly and impartially, and that juries will be able to better understand the experiences of sexual assault survivors,\u201d Mr Speakman said. Sexual consent laws will be strengthened and simplified under NSW Government reforms designed to protect victim-survivors and educate the community. Attorney General Mark Speakman acknowledged the growing calls across the community for reforms to respond more effectively to the scourge of sexual violence in this country. \u201cNo law can ever erase the trauma of sexual … Continue reading “Consent Law Reform”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe LRC received 110 preliminary submissions, 36 submissions in response to its Consultation Paper, and 51 submissions in response to its draft proposals. Almost 3900 people accessed its online survey.
\nThe Government is supporting, or supporting in principle, all 44 of the LRC\u2019s recommendations, except to go further by clarifying that an accused person\u2019s belief in consent will not be reasonable in the circumstances unless they said or did something to ascertain consent.
\n\u201cThis means we will have an affirmative model of consent, which will address issues that have arisen in sexual offence trials about whether an accused\u2019s belief that consent existed was actually reasonable,\u201d Mr Speakman said.
\n\u201cNo one should assume someone is saying \u2018yes\u2019 just because they don\u2019t say \u2018no\u2019 or don\u2019t resist physically. Steps should be taken to make sure all parties are consenting.
\n\u201cI particularly thank survivor Saxon Mullins for her extraordinary bravery in sharing her story and tireless advocacy for victim-survivors, which have contributed to this historic reform.\u201d
\nSurvivor Advocate and Director from Rape & Sexual Assault Research & Advocacy, Saxon Mullins, welcomed the proposed reforms, which she described as a huge leap forward for consent laws in NSW.
\n\u201cAfter so many years fighting for this, it\u2019s almost hard to believe we\u2019ll actually have affirmative consent laws in NSW,\u201d Ms Mullins said.
\n\u201cI know there\u2019s so much more to do in this space, but this is a huge win for survivors, and I\u2019m so grateful for all the survivors and academics who\u2019ve paved the way for this to happen.
\n\u201cI thank the Attorney General for going the extra step to ensure affirmative consent will be law in NSW.\u201d
\nNSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said police are committed to preventing sexual assaults and supporting victims who come forward.
\n\u201cAs police, our primary role is to support victims who courageously come forward to police to report sexual assault and any reform that improves confidence in the judicial process is supported,\u201d Commissioner Fuller said.
\n\u201cI have already stated publicly that I have real concerns about low prosecution rates for sexual assault matters, and a clear definition of consent is integral to improving better outcomes for victims.
\n\u201cI support the Government\u2019s reforms to consent laws, which will provide certainty to victims and police as we embark upon prosecutions of these degrading and violent crimes.\u201d<\/p>\nAmongst other changes, the reforms also introduce five new jury directions available for judges to give at trial to address common misconceptions about consent.<\/h2>\n
\n\u201cI thank the Law Reform Commission and lead Commissioner, the Honourable Acting Justice Carolyn Simpson AO, for a thorough and thoughtful report.\u201d
\nMinister for Education Sarah Mitchell said that schools and parents play significant roles in changing societal attitudes and will be important partners in supporting these reforms.
\n\u201cAll school sectors have committed to tackling the issue of consent through a Statement of Intent, promising increased engagement with students, staff, police and parents on the challenges of sexual assault and consent for young people,\u201d Ms Mitchell said.
\n\u201cThe Government will improve the resources available for teachers and students, updating both\u00a0the curriculum and the resources used to support students\u2019 understanding, to reflect the changes brought about by these legal reforms.
\n\u201cWe will also work with parents and carers to develop specific resources so that families are part of the solution as we continue towards a culture where sexual violence is never acceptable.”
\nMinister for Women Bronnie Taylor said while anyone can be a victim of sexual violence,\u00a0statistics<\/a>\u00a0show that women and girls are far more likely than men and boys to experience sexual offences.
\n\u201cWomen and girls are more likely to experience sexual violence and this is particularly the case for women with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities and those in regional NSW,\u201d Mrs Taylor said.
\n\u201cToday marks a turning point for our State. We have a chance to address the systemic issue of sexual violence and improve access to justice for all victim-survivors across NSW.\u201d
\nThe NSW Government today also committed to fund a research project designed to improve our understanding of\u00a0victim experiences with the criminal justice process, and a targeted education program for judges, legal practitioners and police.
\nAnother public education campaign is also under development to commence later this year, which will build on the success of the Government\u2019s\u00a0#makenodoubt campaigns<\/a>.
\nA Bill to give effect to the reforms will be introduced to NSW Parliament later this year.
\nIf you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, support is available from those who are trained to help:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0call<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0NSW Rape Crisis<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on 1800 424 017 or\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a01800 RESPECT<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on 1800 737 732.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"