Law targets sex violence myths
A new law will get rid of the myths and misconceptions about sexual violence that often cloud judgments in court, says Justice Minister Andrew Little.
His comments come as a bill to improve the court system’s response to sexual violence passed its first reading in Parliament yesterday.
The Sexual Violence Legislation Bill would reduce the trauma sexual violence complainants experienced in court, while maintaining defendants’ fundamental rights and making sure the trial process remained fair,
Little said. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Justice (domestic and sexual violence issues), Jan Logie, has been spearheading the reform.
‘‘These changes are critical to reducing the trauma that contributes to our low prosecution and conviction rates for sexual violence, which the Ministry of Justice recently published research on,’’ Logie said.
Sexual violence covered a range of behaviours from assault and violence to rape, and was an issue that predominantly impacted women, she said.
About one in four experienced acts of sexual violence but it was significantly under-reported with only about 10 per cent of cases reported to police.
Societal ideas about sexual violence and victims also pervaded in the courts and reliance on myths such as ‘‘she was dressed provocatively, so she must have been wanting it’’ or ‘‘she wasn’t beaten up, so it wasn’t really violence’’, caused distress for complainants, she said. They also could directly and indirectly influence the outcome of a trial. ‘‘It is time to start debunking these myths … that is why the bill requires judges to address these.’’
The law would also give more certainty for judges to intervene in ‘‘unfair or inappropriate questioning’’.
The bill includes giving sexual violence survivors the right to choose how to give evidence and undergo cross-examination.
That could be via audio-visual link or a pre-recorded video.
In the cases of a re-trial, the survivor’s evidence could be recorded to avoid having to give it again.
The bill also tightens the rules around evidence about a complainant’s sexual history to better protect against unnecessary and distressing questioning and ensure specialist assistance is available for witnesses who need it to understand and answer questions.
Chief Victims’ Adviser Kim McGregor said cross-examination for complainants was the single most distressing and destructive aspect of the entire justice process. ‘‘If implemented, this bill should better protect complainants of sexual violence, many of whom have for decades reported feeling brutalised from what they describe as harsh and unfair cross-examination,’’ McGregor said.
‘‘I have heard from many victims who report feeling broken, humiliated and worn down after hours and sometimes days of repeated questioning.’’
Complainants absolutely accept their evidence should be tested but it was the hostile way in which they are cross-examined that they objected to, she said.
Steph Dyhrberg from the Wellington Women Lawyers’ Association said the changes represented a positive change to rebalance the legal system.