ASA Submission: ASA Submission Link
Submission Summary (including details of the inquiry and ASA’s recommendations):
The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislations Committee undertook an inquiry into the Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024. Anti-Slavery Australia’s submission highlights sexual violence as a grave violation of human rights that is globally and nationally pervasive in Australia. It also points out the intersectionality of modern slavery and gender-based harm disproportionately affecting women and girls.
The submission highlights the need for a stronger criminal justice response to sexual violence by better protecting vulnerable witnesses to balance the extremely unequal power dynamics that exist within adversarial criminal procedures. Therefore, Anti-Slavery Australia strongly supports the amendments proposed in the Bill.
In addition to the proposed amendments, Anti-Slavery recommends the following:
- That the vulnerable witness protection provisions should also be expanded to include offences of genocide under Division 268 of the Criminal Code.
- That the requirement that publication is in accordance with the limits, if any, set by the vulnerable person extend to all publications that distort or sensationalise the stories of victim-survivors, whether current or past, for profit or some other benefit.
- A nationally consistent approach between state/territory and federal legislation in the protections that are afforded to vulnerable witnesses
- A focus on protecting the rights of victim-survivors outside of the criminal justice system, including the establishment of a national victims’ compensation scheme and a federal charter of victims’ rights.
- Embedding the survivor voice in Australia’s research and policy development relating to family and sexual violence through a statutory modern slavery Survivor Advisory Council.