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The Victims of Sexual Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Bill takes important steps towards reducing the harms experienced by victims of sexual violence participating in court proceedings.
The Justice Committee sought submissions on the Bill in late 2023 and has sought further submissions on Amendment Papers 215 and 216 for the Bill. The amendments seek to:
- extend the automatic suppression of the identity of complainants in sexual cases to include all offences of sexual nature.
- in the case of an adult defendant who is convicted of a sexual offence, only allow courts to make orders that suppress the identity of defendants with the agreement of the complainant (unless they cannot be contacted, or are unable or unwilling to engage with the court).
Our Submission
As a part of our pro bono programme, Chapman Tripp are the legal advisors to certain survivors of serious sexual offending, including in connection with name suppression matters.
We provided submissions on this Bill in 2023 to the Justice Committee in the context of our experience with work of this nature. In our related recent submissions on Amendment Papers 215 and 216, we reiterate our support for the Bill as well as suggesting some drafting improvements.
