Wednesday 7 March, 2012
9.30am - 4.30pm
Museum of Sydney, NSW
Bridge St and Philip St, Sydney, NSW
A forum for legal, medical and allied health services practitioners

The forum

The crisis response to sexual assault often involves multiple systems such as sexual assault services, law enforcement, and forensic and medical services, which attempt to provide victim/survivors with psycho-social support, assess their physical, mental and emotional safety, and secure an avenue for legal redress.

The medical and forensic response is a dual response: it spans both victim/survivors’ wellbeing in the aftermath of sexual assault and their engagement in criminal justice proceedings. This involves balancing the needs of victims with the imperatives of the criminal justice system.

The Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault is convening a one-day forum to explore and debate current issues and practice in forensic and medical care for victims of sexual assault. What is best practice in victim-centred care? What do we know about the role of forensic evidence in sexual assault prosecution?

Join us to hear experts in forensic science and forensic medical examination, eminent legal practitioners, researchers and service providers come together and discuss these issues.

The forum will discuss areas such as:

• the state of forensic science and the challenges in its relationship with the criminal justice system
• victim-centred crisis care - tensions challenges possibilities
• the role of the forensic examiner in sexual assault prosecution
• what we know about the effectiveness of forensic medical evidence in sexual assault prosecution
• the future of forensic science, its role as evidence in sexual assault prosecution; key areas for change; what this means for the role of forensic medical examiners

Program

View the full program.

Registration

Forum registration is $55 per person. It includes morning & afternoon tea and lunch. Interested parties should download and return the Registration Form. Registration closes COB Friday, 2 March 2012. If you need help completing the Registration form please contact ACSSA.

The presenters

Frank Vincent: The Hon. Frank Vincent AO, QC

Former Principal Judge of the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Member of the Court of Appeal (2001-2009). Currently holds positions of Distinguished Fellow of Victoria University and Provost of the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre, Professorial Fellow of Faculty of Social Sciences and Law at University of Melbourne. President of the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Academy of Forensic Science. Member of the Ethics Committee of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.

Dr Antonia Quadara, Manager, Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault (ACSSA)

Dr Antonia Quadara is a Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies, where she manages the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault (ACSSA). The Centre is a national resource of information and research for policy makers, service providers, researchers and others working in the sexual assault field. Antonia has extensive experience in synthesising and communicating current knowledge and research to inform responses to sexual violence.

Alastair Ross AM, Director, ANZPAA National Institute of Forensic Science

Alastair Ross has been involved in forensic science since 1976, and was the inaugural Director of the National Institute of Forensic Science (NIFS) until 2003. He is currently Director of NIFS and was elected chairman of the board at the National Association of Testing Authorities in 2011.

Other speakers include:

Jo Spangaro

A Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies where she is completing a review of the evidence for prevention of sexual violence in the context of war and humanitarian crises. Her PhD on the impact of screening for intimate partner violence was awarded first prize in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the Uni of NSW in 2010.

Marion Brown

A consultant and trainer who has practised law for more than 25 years. She has worked in private practice and as the principal solicitor of a Community Legal Centre, working primarily in the field of family law and violence against women and children. She has also been a part-time hearing commissioner with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Dr Angela Williams, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, MBBS, MForensMed, Grad Dip Law, MFFLM, FACLM

A Forensic Physician with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Department of Forensic Medicine at Monash University. She is a certified Consultant to the Victorian Forensic Paediatric Medical Service. Her professional interests cover the full span of clinical forensic medicine. Current activities are centred on sexual assault, injury interpretation, child abuse and forensic medical education.