Calls to ban defence teams accessing sexual assault victims’ records, and also give them proper legal representation – ABC News
Confidential counselling and medical information from sexual assault victims continues to be used to undermine their credibility in court, despite laws protecting their confidentiality, a Queensland community legal service says.
Key points:
- Women’s Legal Service Queensland says the criminal defence teams’ use of the highly personal information often makes the victim look like a crazy, vindictive liar
- One of the keys to legislative reform for sexual assault victims and survivors is providing them with government-funded legal representation from the time they report the crime
- A victim says she now regrets reporting being raped by her ex-boyfriend in 2017, and has stopped receiving counselling
Women’s Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) lawyer Julie Sarkozi said there was a lack of legal consistency and understanding around legislative protections, to keep victims’ counselling sessions and medical records protected and private from criminal defence teams.
This can include information from therapy with doctors, community mental health services and school guidance counsellors.
The issue is one of several raised in the WLSQ submission to Queensland’s Women Safety and Justice Taskforce, for legislative reform to better protect sexual assault victims.
To read the rest of the article – click on: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-02/qld-court-sexual-assault-surivors-call-for-legal-respresentation/101024704