Improving the Justice System Response to Sexual Offences: Report (html)

The VLRC report, Improving the Justice System Response to Sexual Offences, was released on 12 November 2021. It deals with sexual offences law reform. It contains 91 recommendations to reform the ways the justice system responds to sexual offences including rape. The report includes recommendations relating to restorative justice, affirmative consent, criminal trials for rape and other sexual offences, compensation and financial assistance. The Victorian government has committed to key aspects of the VLRC’s recommendations for sexual offences law reform. Read the report by following the links below.

• Preface
• Terms of reference
• Glossary
• Executive summary
• Recommendations
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Sexual violence and justice
• 3. A community that stands against sexual violence
• 4. Rebuilding the system for responding to sexual violence
• 5. Working together to respond to sexual violence
• 6. Adding to the evidence base about sexual violence
• 7. Reporting sexual violence: having information, options and access
• 8. Reaching all communities who experience sexual violence
• 9. Restorative justice for sexual offences
• 10. Improving financial assistance and truth telling for victim survivors of sexual violence
• 11. Improving civil litigation for victim survivors of sexual violence
• 12. Supporting people who have experienced sexual violence
• 13. Preventing sexual offending
• 14. Legal definitions of sexual violence
• 15. Expanding access to justice for victim survivors of sexual violence
• 16. Forensic medical examinations
• 17. Police to prosecution in sexual violence cases
• 18. Specialisation and sexual offence trials
• 19. Sexual offence trials: key issues
• 20. Juries and sexual offence trials
• 21. Respecting victim survivors in sexual offence trials
• 22. The path forward: implementing reforms to respond to sexual violence
• Appendix A:
  Submissions
• Appendix B:
  Consultations
• Appendix C:
  Acknowledgments
• Appendix D: Availability of data about sexual offences in the criminal justice system
• Appendix E: Restorative justice for sexual offences in Australia and New Zealand where the person responsible is an adult
• Bibliography