Tasmanian Law Reform Institute to review youth justice system responses to sex offences by young people

A top legal body will review the Tasmanian youth justice system’s responses to sex offences committed by young people – amid an explosion in cybersex crimes across the nation. What it will involve >

Tasmanian Law Reform Institute director Professor Jeremy Prichard. Picture: Supplied/Peter W. Allen

A top legal body will conduct a two-year review of the Tasmanian youth justice system’s responses to sex offending by young people amid an explosion of cybersex crime across the country.

The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute (TLRI) has received $197,000 in funding from the state government to conduct the review.

It will examine responses to sex offences committed by young people, including the use of therapeutic services, diversionary practices, catering to the needs of victim-survivors, education and early intervention.

TLRI director, Professor Jeremy Prichard, who is an expert on youth justice and cybersex offending, is leading the review.

His and his colleagues’ award-winning work on preventing cybersex crime has been recognised by the US Department of Justice.

Tasmanian Law Reform Institute director Professor Jeremy Prichard. Picture: Supplied/Peter W. Allen

Prof Prichard said the review would analyse available data and involve interviews with police, departmental staff, counsellors and support services.

“The reason why it’s appropriate for us now to be looking at how well our youth justice system operates in practice is that we know that we have national figures that indicate that some young people are charged every year with physical sex offences,” he said.

“And that’s been the case for some time but what’s further complicated this area is the indications about the frequency of different types of cyber sex offences.”

Between 2020-22, police across Australia initiated proceedings against 3659 alleged sexual offenders aged 10-19. About one-in-five Australians have reported having sexual or nude images taken of them without their consent.

Prof Prichard said the ultimate aim of the review was to “get a clear picture of how well the system is responding”.

“When we look across the 20th century, we can see mistakes nationally that were made. We’re dealing with young people that have committed offences, all types of offences. And over the decades we saw what happens if you give excessive punishments,” he said.

“We can see how that can be completely counter-productive and even increase recidivism. But we’ve also seen periods where, occasionally, and this is nationally I’m thinking about, there were excessive or heavy-handed welfare interventions into the lives of young people.”

TLRI principal research fellow, Dr Rebecca Bradfield said it was critical to develop a greater understanding of sex offending committed by young people and the effectiveness of the youth justice system’s varying responses to the issue.

“Sex offences committed by minors can result in significant psychological distress for the young people affected and their families,” she said.

The TLRI will release a progress report by mid-2024. A final report will be published in 2025.

Originally published as Tasmanian Law Reform Institute to review youth justice system responses to sex offences by young people