Rape reform laws introduced into Parliament
The biggest changes to South Australia's laws on rape and sexual assault in more than 30 years were introduced into Parliament last week.
The Attorney-General introduced the Criminal Law Consolidation (Rape and Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill 2007 and the Statutes Amendment (Evidence and Procedure) Bill 2007 to Parliament. Together these Bills provide a clearer definition of sexual offences, including rape and the persistent sexual abuse of a child, and what constitutes consent.
These are landmark reforms that are the result of extensive consultation.
Importantly, the new laws will also ensure that the criminal justice system is more sensitive to the needs of victims of rape and sexual assault. For example, cases involving sexual offences against children will be given priority unless there are exceptional circumstances and victims of rape and sexual assault will be protected from cross-examination by the accused in person.
The Bills are available on www.legislation.sa.gov.au.You can find each Bill in the in the alphabetical list of titles in the Bills page. The second reading reports, which explain the Bills, can be found on www.parliament.gov.au in the House of Assembly Hansard for Thursday 25 October, 2007. The report for the Statutes Amendment (Evidence and Procedure) Bill 2007 is on page 1449. The report for the Criminal Law Consolidation (Rape and Sexual Offences) Bill 2007 follows immediately afterwards on page 1468.
