Australian Government Urged to Review Laws that ‘Silence’ Sexual Abuse Survivors

An Australian state attorney-general has launched an “urgent” review into newly-introduced legislation that allegedly silences victims of rape and sexual assault.

Advocates say amendments made to Victoria’s Judicial Proceedings Reports Act in February mean many such victims who want to share their stories cannot speak publicly using their real names, unless they get a court order first.

The laws broadly aim to protect the identities of sexual assault victims while their cases are before the courts, prohibiting journalists from using their names. But according to advocates of the Let Us Speak campaign, it also means victims in cases where the court reaches a guilty verdict are effectively placed under a gag order, and must apply for permission from the judicial system before they’re allowed to speak to the media, publish autobiographies, or do any kind of public advocacy work.

Those caught in breach of the laws could face a fine of more than $3,300 or four months in jail. Moreover, advocates say the legal costs involved in seeking a court order can be prohibitively expensive—more than $10,000, in some cases, without any guarantee of success.

Members of the Let Us Speak campaign also claim that because the laws apply regardless of how long ago a person was found guilty, abuse survivors who spoke out publicly in the past now have to apply for a court order if they want to continue sharing their stories using their real names.

Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy has asked the Department of Justice and Community Safety to "urgently look" at the laws, claiming such consequences were unintended.

"The changes that took effect in February were about reducing barriers and improving clarity for victims who want to talk about their experiences, not about introducing new restrictions for survivors who want to go public with their story," she said in a statement.

Hetty Johnson, who founded child protection advocacy organisation Bravehearts and whose own daughter was sexually assaulted, described the changes to the laws as “an absolute disgrace”, demanding that government officials “rescind that legislation immediately.”

"We just can't believe, after 24 years of trying to stop this draconian approach to silencing victims of crime, that Victoria of all places would introduce legislation like this," she told the ABC, pointing out that taking away the voices of sexual assault victims was an erosion of their civil rights and dignity. "Our aim is to raise the voice of the victims, the voice of the survivors, the voice of the child, above that. It is a cultural shift that just has to happen."