Page 4026 - Week 13 - Thursday, 10 November 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
EVIDENCE (CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION) (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 2) 1994
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General and Minister for Health) (11.16): Mr Deputy Speaker, I present the Evidence (Closed-Circuit Television) (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1994.
Title read by Clerk.
MR CONNOLLY: Mr Deputy Speaker, I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
This is a Bill to extend the Evidence (Closed-Circuit Television) Act 1991 to adult victims of sexual and indecent assault. As you are aware, as a result of measures passed by this Assembly, children giving evidence in court are already able to use closed-circuit television to do so. It is undeniable that sexual assault complainants are predominantly women. There is a large and growing body of information about the experiences of women who have entered the criminal justice system as complainants in sexual assault proceedings. Many women have participated in phone-ins and other surveys. Women have been unanimous in their condemnation of the present system of conducting proceedings in which they have to give evidence about a sexual or indecent assault. They have felt ashamed, humiliated, fearful and generally victimised by the system. For many women, the worst part about the system has been giving evidence in the presence of the accused. Ironically, the accused is often seated next to his counsel at the bar table, in a position that puts him closer to the witness than any other person in the courtroom. There is little doubt that this can be a traumatic, intimidating and sometimes terrifying experience.
The objective of this Bill is to ensure that the best evidence is available to the court. This is achieved by reducing the stress and trauma that beset sexual assault complainants under our present system. It is hoped that an ancillary benefit of this legislation will be that more sexual assault victims are encouraged to proceed with the prosecution of their case. The Bill is to apply for a trial period of 18 months. During this time, an evaluation of its operation and its effect will be conducted under the auspices of the Community Law Reform Committee. Some concerns have been raised that the use of closed-circuit television can be adverse to the complainant by making her or him appear to be remote from the jury. Little research has been done dealing with the effect on a jury of evidence given in this way. The evaluation will focus on this issue as well as seeking to ascertain whether there is any unfairness to the accused. A major study on child video evidence found that there was no unfairness and no prejudice.
The Bill will apply to criminal proceedings in both the Magistrates Court and the Supreme Court, proceedings for criminal injuries compensation arising from the alleged commission of a sexual offence as defined in the Bill, and proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act where the alleged domestic violence offence is also a sexual offence. A number of other jurisdictions, including Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia, already have legislation allowing sexual assault complainants to give their evidence by closed-circuit television.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .