ACSSA Wrap No. 8, 2010
Supporting victims through the legal process: The role of sexual assault service providers
By Debra Parkinson
Published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, November 2010, 16 pp. ISBN 978-1-921414-42-8; ISSN 1833-7856 (print); ISSN 1833-7864 (online)
Download ACSSA Wrap No.8, 2010 (PDF 931 KB)
At present, most crime victims decline to get involved in the legal system, apparently preferring to suffer the injustice rather than compromise their family or community ties, their privacy, their safety, or their mental health … Among rape victims, for example, in spite of legal reforms designed to mitigate the most flagrant forms of institutional bias, still only a small minority choose to report the crime.
(Herman, 2003, p. 161)
Introduction
The secondary victimisation suffered by women1 in sexual assault court cases is well documented (Koss, Bachar, Hopkins, & Carlson, 2004; Maier, 2008; Morrison, 2008; Tjaden, 2009) and is a factor in women's reluctance to report sexual assault. Over recent years, state, territory and national governments have attempted to minimise the negative impacts of the law. Tasmania, for example, has introduced initiatives to increase access to Legal Aid and court support for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence (Department of Families Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs [FaHCSIA], 2010). The ACT has offered specialist training to police, prosecutors and victim support workers, with new legislation in 2008 providing victims with improved protection during the court process (Australian Labor Party, 2010). In NSW, the Attorney-General's Criminal Justice Sexual Offences Taskforce developed 70 recommendations on ways to improve the responsiveness of the criminal justice system to victims of sexual assault (Attorney-General's Criminal Justice Sexual Offences Taskforce, 2006.
These government initiatives affirm a general awareness that women's experience of the criminal justice system must improve if more women are to pursue justice through the courts.
This Wrap examines one initiative to improve women's experience the criminal justice system through the provision of support for victims throughout the process. It is informed by consultations with sexual assault counsellors who have worked extensively in helping women navigate the legal system, and by other key informants. It draws on their expertise to distil strategies for effective practice.2
The case studies at the end of this publication illustrate a range of initiatives designed to improve justice outcomes for victims of sexual assault. The role sexual assault services play in the legal process in each state is summarised in Web Appendix 1.
Author
At the time of writing, Debra Parkinson was a Senior Research Officer with the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault
Acknowledgements
This article is based on consultations with Meg Butterfield (Legal Supervisor South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault/Springvale Monash Legal Service Joint Clinic); two police officers from Victoria Police Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Units; Barb Kelly (Manager, Northern Territory Sexual Assault Resource Centre); Di Macleod (Director, Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence); Natalie Walker-Winmill (Victim Liason Officer, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Qld); Carolyn Worth (Manager, South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault); Angie (Rural Counsellor Advocate); Sally (Counsellor/Advocate, Psychologist); and Susan (Counsellor/Advocate, Senior Social Worker). We express our sincere appreciation for their time and expertise.
Thanks also to Karen Hogan (then, CASA Convenor), Veronica Wensing (Executive Officer, Canberra Rape Crisis Centre), Karen Willis (Executive Officer, NSW Rape Crisis Centre), Di Macleod (Director, Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence), Sandra Eyre (Director, Policy Branch, Qld), Marg Dean (Manager, Laurel House), Anne Stephens (Sexual Assault Support Service), Tania Towers (Manager, Sexual Assault Resource Centre, WA), Sue Cousins (Sexual Assault Referral Centre, NT), Dr Melanie Lotfali (Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Rape), Sharon Lockwood (Yarrow Place Rape and Sexual Assault Service) for information on the role that sexual assault services play in the legal process in each state and territory. Thanks also to Ruth Liston, former ACSSA Senior Research Officer, who assisted in compiling the literature.
1 Revictimisation or secondary victimisation refers to the capacity of elements of legal process to traumatise victim/survivors (e.g., through cross-examination) such that the process is experienced by survivors as a “second rape” (see Madigan & Gamble, 1991; Martin & Powell, 1994).
Throughout this article we refer to victims as women as 83% of all sexual assault victims seen by Australian police in 2006 were female (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2007).
2 Using ACSSA’s communication networks with sexual assault services, police and legal professionals, 10 stakeholders were consulted for their expertise. They represented different parts of the legal and sexual assault sectors, and different geographic regional across Australia, both rural and metropolitan.