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Sexual Assault

The Magistrates' Court is strongly committed to the sexual assault reforms which are being implemented across the justice system. Whilst the impact of sexual assault is most visible in the criminal jurisdiction of the court; sexual assault is a feature in many of the cases in the VOCAT, Children's Court, crimes family violence and civil jurisdictions of the Court. A number of new structures and procedures are being established to meet the challenges and responsibilities of the Court in managing sexual assault issues across all jurisdictions including the establishment of the Magistrates' Court sexual assault portfolio in 2006.

In the criminal jurisdiction of the court, many of the reforms have arisen from the recommendations made by the 2004 Victorian Law Reform Commission's Report, Sexual Offences Final Report.  To view the report please use the link in the weblinks panel on the right.

The Crimes (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 and the Crimes (Sexual Offences)(Further Amendment) Act 2006 amended the Crimes Act 1958, the Crimes (Criminal Trials) Act 1999, the Evidence Act 1958 and the Magistrates' Court Act 1989 to make further provision in relation to sexual offences, including the definition of offences and the giving of evidence in legal proceedings that relate to a charge for a sexual offence.

Objectives

The objectives of Subdivisions (8A) to (8G) of the Crimes Act 1958 relating to sexual offences are:

  • to uphold the fundamental right of every person to make decisions about his or her sexual behaviour and to choose not to engage in sexual activity;
  • to protect children and persons with a cognitive impairment from sexual exploitation.

Guiding principles

It is the intention of Parliament that, in interpreting and applying Subdivisions (8A) to (8G) of the Crimes Act, courts are to have regard to the fact that:

  • there is a high incidence of sexual violence within society
  • sexual offences are significantly underreported
  • a significant number of sexual offences are committed against women, children and other vulnerable persons including persons with a cognitive impairment
  • sexual offenders are commonly known to their victims
  • sexual offences often occur in circumstances where there is unlikely to be any physical signs of an offence having occurred.

Section 4R of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989, which came into operation on 1 December 2006, established the Sexual Offences List - see Sexual Offences List in the related pages panel on the right.