NewsBite

Support grows for changes that'll curb court trauma during rape trials

Sex Discrimination Commissioner welcomes 'Brittany's Law' being adopted in the ACT.

The Oz

Sex Discrimination Commissioner welcomes 'Brittany' Law' being adopted in the ACT.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins says ACT law changes that would allow testimony given by sexual assault complainants to be recorded and deemed admissible in court retrials is a good step to improving outcomes for alleged victims. 

The Australian reported on the proposed law change earlier this month, which could mean former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins would not have to reappear in person in court next year. 

Ms Higgins appeared before the ACT Supreme Court last month to give evidence in the trial where her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann was accused of raping her. Mr Lehrmann pleaded not guilty.

However, after it was revealed a juror conducted research on sexual harassment claims and brought documents on the matter into jury deliberations despite explicit instructions from the Chief Justice, the trial was aborted and rescheduled for February 2023.

Under current laws, Ms Higgins would need to reappear in front of the court and give her evidence again.

But The Australian revealed a proposal to amend the ACT Evidence Act would be considered by the Territory that, if passed, would allow Ms Higgins’ previous evidence to be used and free her from attending court or facing another cross-examination by Mr Lehrmann’s defence team.

When asked by The Australian if she supported such a law change to improve outcomes for alleged victims of sexual assault more broadly, Ms Jenkins said she did. 

“From a sexual harassment point of view, we definitely hear sexual harassment is distressing and then often you hear the process, whether it is at court or even in workplaces, that process really can be re-traumatising,” she said at the National Press Club. 

“And that's part of the reason why people are reluctant to complain in sexual harassment cases.”

Ms Jenkins, who will leave her post next April, also used her NPC address to call for the Australian Human Rights Commission to be given more funding by government. 

“It’s been a pretty skinny organisation that I’ve worked under and I think that we, as they say, punch above our weight but imagine if you gave us a few more resources how much more we could do to make this a great country,” she said. 

The outgoing Commissioner said the country was at “a key inflection point” in improving outcomes when it came to harassment in the workplace, with figures released on Wednesday showing almost half of women surveyed had experienced sexual harassment at work over the past five years.

Overall, one in three Australians responded that they had experienced sexual harassment in their workplaces, but just 18% reported it. 

“Either they thought it wasn't serious enough or it was easier to keep quiet,” Ms Jenkins said.

“So we have to learn from this data, because it not only shows that there‘s more work to do, but it shows where the work needs to be done.”

Ms Jenkins said she was “especially worried” that nothing had changed for new job entrants, with almost half of workers under 30 have experienced sexual harassment in the last five years.

“While there's movement and clearly momentum, a lot of workplaces still need to lift their game,” she said.

Sarah Ison
Sarah IsonPolitical Reporter

Sarah Ison is a political reporter in The Australian's Canberra press gallery bureau, where she covers a range of rounds from higher education to social affairs. Sarah was a federal political reporter with The West Australian's Canberra team between 2019 and 2021, before which she worked in the masthead's Perth newsroom. Sarah made her start in regional journalism at the Busselton-Dunsborough Times in 2017.

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/the-oz/news/support-grows-for-changes-thatll-curb-court-trauma-during-rape-trials/news-story/d19a3e627fc7dcf7483702893c54d13a