Page 621 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 22 February 2012
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MR CORBELL: I thank Mrs Dunne for the question. Any increase in the rate of reporting, and indeed offending, in relation to sexual assault is a serious matter. My directorate looks closely at this data. There are a range of circumstances that may drive changes in reporting and offending rates. One of those may be an increase in the reporting rate—that is, that more victims of sexual assault are prepared to come forward and report the matter to police to allow the matter to be investigated and potentially prosecuted. Sexual assault is one of those crimes which are recognised as having a significant level of under-reporting; therefore an increase in the rate of reports of sexual assault may indicate an improvement in terms of reporting of the offences concerned.
That is the general observation I make about those figures. In relation to the more specific elements of Mrs Dunne’s question, I will take those on notice.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary, Mrs Dunne.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, what is the government doing to further reduce the incidence of sexual assault in the ACT?
MR CORBELL: Reducing the incidence of sexual assault is all about improving the reporting rate, because of that ongoing, underlying level of non-reporting by victims of sexual assault, noting that most victims of sexual assault are women. The government’s response to that has been to introduce a series of reforms that make it easier for victims to report the matters and in particular make it easier for those victims then to give evidence in court and to be supported through the criminal justice process.
The sexual assault reform project, which the previous Assembly supported in relation to changes to the territory’s criminal law in the conduct of these matters in the courts, has been a very important step in facilitating greater protections and reducing the amount of retraumatisation that victims of sexual assault otherwise experience when they have to go and give evidence and be cross-examined in relation to that evidence. Those are the types of responses that the government has pursued and will continue to pursue. Indeed, at this point in time we are closely looking at the impact of the SARP reforms to make an assessment as to whether or not further reforms of that order are required.
MR HANSON: A supplementary.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: Attorney, do these figures reflect a failure of government legislation introduced during this Assembly attempting to combat the incidence of sexual assaults and if no, why?
MR CORBELL: I do not believe so. Indeed, for the reasons I have just elaborated upon, improving reporting rates is a positive outcome in that it means that more offences are being investigated and more matters are being brought before the courts
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