The ACT's sexual assault processes need to be overhauled to put survivors' experiences first, the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Speaking at the March 4 Justice rally on Monday, Ms Yates renewed calls for the territory to urgently review the response to sexual assault across portfolios and directorates.
"We're in this together. The community is calling for action. The time to act is now," Ms Yates said.
"Let's do this as a territory, and let's apply all the best practice we know is existing elsewhere to our small, joined-up service provision here in the territory."
The commissioner said it was time to examine how the territory responded to sexual assault, from therapeutic support, evidence collection, how police investigated incidents and how matters were prosecuted.
Ms Yates said the new Labor and Greens parliamentary agreement referred to the government's commitment to sexual assault reforms.
"I'm calling for that to happen early in the parliamentary term and for it to be a cross-ministerial portfolio, cross-directorate project, which pulls in health, community services, disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs, justice and community safety.
"We need to do this work together to improve the system."
READ MORE:
ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said reforms would be progressed during this term of government, taking into account the voices of survivors.
"Drawing on the past success of the Sexual Assault Reform Program, I intend to work with my ministerial colleagues to bring together community voices so we can identify and implement the best possible reforms to sexual assault processes," Mr Rattenbury said.
"I anticipate that this group will be convened within the coming months.
"The timeline for these reforms will be driven by the voices within this group. It will not be one single change. It will need to be ongoing and iterative."
Ms Yates said trust in the system needed to be improved so that survivors of sexual assault felt confident in coming forward.
"We also understand that for the hundreds of women who access our service each year in relation to sexual assault, so many are outraged by the lack of accountability for the offenders who perpetrated harm against them," she said.
"We know the system has to change to be better informed by the voices of survivors, and we want to join our voices to the conversation."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram