Controversial case that sparked a national debate on sexual consent could lead to a legislative review
THE woman whose legal case sparked a national debate about the issue of sexual consent has prompted the NSW Attorney-General to call for a review of state laws.
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SAXON Mullins’ brave story about how a man walked free after being accused of raping her in an alleyway behind a Sydney nightclub has exposed a “systemic problem” with New South Wales’ sexual consent laws.
Now aged 23, the young woman from NSW’s Central Coast was a teenage virgin when she met Luke Lazarus, the private school boy and son of a nightclub owner, who she says raped her in an alleyway on her first night out in Kings Cross in May 2013.
The pair met on a dancefloor, and within minutes moved outside into a laneway near Soho nightclub after Mr Lazarus said he was taking her to a VIP area. But the night ended with her in hysterics and a lengthy legal battle.
“Part of me died that day," she told ABC’s Four Corners on Monday after waiving her anonymity to share her story, sparking a national debate about sexual consent.
Over a five-year period, Ms Mullins endured two trials and two appeals with Mr Lazarus spending 11 months in jail after being convicted by a jury before eventually walking free after a second trial.
NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said he was disturbed by Ms Mullins’ story on Four Corners and has now referred the laws to the Law Reform Commission after questions were raised about their adequacy, fairness and clarity.
“[Saxon Mullins has] been humiliated in an alleyway at the age of 18, she’s had to tell her traumatic story in court, she’s had to face two trials, two appeals, and still, no final outcome,” Mr Speakman told the ABC.
“From her viewpoint, the whole process has been, I imagine, just a huge disappointment.
“What this shows is that there’s a real question about whether our law in New South Wales is clear enough, is certain enough, is fair enough.”
Mr Speakman said there was a “systemic problem” in NSW with just 10 per cent of reported sexual assaults ending up with a conviction.
“(It’s) a concern that someone who has not consented can go through four court cases and not get a final resolution for the complaint,” he told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
“There is a reluctance by complainants to come forward ... They’ve already been traumatised once, and they have to go through this retraumatisation yet again,” he said.
Mr Lazarus was acquitted of anally raping the then 18-year-old after a jury previously found him guilty and he served 11 months in jail.
His conviction was quashed on appeal and he was cleared in a judge-alone retrial in 2017.
Judge Robyn Tupman found Mr Lazarus reasonably believed the teenager, who told him she was a virgin, was consenting and acquitted him.
She also accepted the woman believed she wasn’t consenting.
In November last year, a Crown appeal against Mr Lazarus’ acquittal was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal, with Judge Tupman’s verdict upheld.
Mr Lazarus’ acquittal, on the grounds he did not know the then-teenager had not consented, sparked debate on how the law interprets the issue of consent in rape cases.
“I never knew what panic attacks felt like until my incident,” Ms Mullins told Four Corners. “I never knew what it felt like to be utterly helpless. The first time I ever felt like that was in an alleyway behind Soho.”
Ms Mullins’ story has also highlighted the human brain’s response to threats and trauma — flight, fight or freeze.
The “freeze response” is well-known among psychologists and psychiatrists and is a common coping mechanism.
“I also recall that ‘freeze response’ — it’s truly the worst feeling in the world,” revealed one woman involved in an unrelated sexual incident.
“Unfortunately for me there was no trial as being young no one would believe my story.”
Saxon Mullins is so incredibly brave. She has unmasked herself in order to get more people talking about enthusiastic consent, despite the fact this will lead to trolling and abuse. I stand with you Saxon. https://t.co/iIsB7yYrxh
— Lauren Ingram 🌈 (@laureningram) May 7, 2018
One woman said she had been doing martial arts for years until she needed to use it and couldn’t, while another said it was a strategy women often reverted to.
“Don’t react, don’t fight back to avoid further aggression from the attacker and in some cases it may get the attacker to stop because he is not getting the response he wants,’ she said.
Professor Annie Cossins, of the University of NSW’s law and criminology department, told Four Corners a victim did what they were told to do because they lost the ability to have conscious control over their body in the freeze response.
“It’s well-known by psychiatrists and psychologists — that there’s actually three responses to fear: there’s fight, flight and freeze,” she said.
“A freeze response usually occurs when the person can see that fight and flight aren’t options for them.”
Mr Lazarus was acquitted of anally raping the then 18-year-old after a jury previously found him guilty and he served 11 months in jail.
His conviction was quashed on appeal and he was cleared in a judge-alone retrial in 2016.
Speaking about consent laws, Ms Mullins said “on a social level, I think we need to teach people about making sure that the person that you are with wants to be with you”.
“Enthusiastic consent is really easy to determine,” she said. “And I think if you don’t have that, then you’re not good to go. All you need to say is: ‘Do you want to be here?’ And very clearly: ‘Do you want to have sex with me? Do you want to be doing what we’re doing?’
“And if it’s not an enthusiastic yes, then it’s not enough. If it’s not an enthusiastic yes, it’s a no. That’s it. And then, you’re committing a crime. Simple as that.”
Many Australians have called for better education in schools.
“I vividly remember my science teacher say ‘just keep your legs shut’ let alone any conversations about consent,” said one woman.
Another said: “I think this is why we need to change the dialogue about consent in schools. ‘No means no’ doesn’t always work. People might be too scared, too drunk, maybe even asleep or unconscious.
“We need to start teaching that ‘only yes means yes’ and that a person is only ever asking for it, when they actually literally ask for it.”
Others backed the idea of “enthusiastic consent” Ms Mullins has called for.
“I would have thought it solves all the issues around these cases,” said one commenter.
“The sooner it’s adopted the better. If someone can’t give enthusiastic consent it’s not consent. Full stop.”
Mr Speakman said the delay and uncertainty around the case was unacceptable.
Ms Mullins said in sharing her story she hoped to see change for other women.
— With AAP
Originally published as Controversial case that sparked a national debate on sexual consent could lead to a legislative review