NCJ Number
86210
Date Published
1982
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This essay discusses Australian legislation bearing upon victim compensation and the treatment of rape victim-witnesses.
Abstract
In 1979 every Australian State and the Northern Territory had a statutory criminal injuries compensation scheme. The schemes are no longer regarded as experimental, and the trend is one of expansion in some of the most important aspects of the schemes. Considerable changes have occurred in the various maximum levels of compensation. Currently, there is significant support for the view that compensation should be provided to cover the extent of criminal injuries with no fixed maximum. The Australian Law Reform Commission has concluded that victim compensation should be provided in the Commonwealth areas of responsibility. Other recommendations include no artificial limits on awards and the provision of compensation for abused wives and children. Further, in all Australian States except New South Wales, procedural and evidentiary provisions have been enacted to ameliorate the position of rape victims in the forensic processes following the alleged rape. All the statutes generally prohibit cross-examination of the victim about her sexual history, but the specific methods adopted vary substantially. In all States except Queensland and Victoria, the device of a clear but largely unstructured judicial discretion is used. The legislation appears to be effective in minimizing if not eliminating the irrelevant questioning of rape victims about their sexual history. Data are provided on the number of awards, number of applications refused, and the total of final awards for the Victorian Crimes Compensation Tribunal for 1973-78, and 75 references are listed.