NCJ Number
206667
Date Published
July 2004
Length
528 pages
Annotation
This final report is the culmination of the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s reference on sexual offenses and t contains 202 recommendations on all aspects of the criminal justice process.
Abstract
This final report conducted in 2003 by the Victorian Law Reform Commission is the culmination of 3 years of work on whether the criminal justice system is sufficiently responsive to the needs of complainants in sexual offense cases and to make recommendations for needed changes. The report includes both research on the way current laws and procedures work in practice and extensive consultations. Two-hundred and two recommendations in the report respond to the widely held perception that the criminal justice system does not always deal fairly with complainants in sexual offense cases. The recommendations are based on research on how current laws and procedures are working and on extensive consultation with complainants, organizations providing counseling and support to victims of sexual offenses, police, prosecution and defense lawyers, judges, magistrates and others. The recommendations are intended to achieve two goals: providing decent treatment for complainants, who perform a public service when they report offenses and give evidence in court and ensuring a fair trial for people accused of sexual offenses. The report is divided into 10 main chapters: (1) Introduction and Scope of The Report; (2) Improving Police Responses; (3) Increasing the Responsiveness of The Criminal Justice System; (4) Making It Easier For Complainants To Give Evidence; (5) Improving The System For Child Complainants; (6) Improving The System for Complainants Who Have a Cognitive Impairment; (7) Judges’ Directions To Juries; (8) The Mental Element of Rape; (9) Legislative Changes; and (10) Dealing With Juvenile Sexual Offenders. Appendices 1-8