NCJ Number
139144
Date Published
1992
Length
43 pages
Annotation
In 1991 the Law Reform Commission of Victoria (Australia) released two reports on the reform of rape law and procedure; this supplementary report addresses the following issues not covered in the earlier reports: sentencing practices in "prostitute rape" cases, crimes compensation for sexual assault victims, the tape recording of complainant's statements, processes for dealing with "false reports," no-further-actions statements made to the police, and cross-examination and advocacy practices in rape trials.
Abstract
The discussion of sentencing in "prostitute rape" cases, focuses on a relatively mild sentence given the client of a prostitute who forced her to continue sex acts when she wished to terminate them. The judge reasoned that the psychological harm suffered by the victim was lessened because of her occupation. The Law Reform Commission recommends that any relevant amendment to the Sentencing Act be limited to the insertion of a provision in section 5(2) that would prohibit a sentencer from making any assumption about the impact on a victim of a sexual offense based on the fact that the complainant was, or had been, a prostitute. Issues in commission recommendations for compensation for sexual assault victims are improved access to the tribunal, time limits, and the move to a magistrate- based system. Issues in the tape recording of victims' statements are whether the taping should be mandatory for the police, where the interviews should be conducted, when a transcript should be prepared, when the statement should be signed, whether the tapes should be played in trials, whether defense counsel's access to the tapes should be restricted, and trial implementation. Issues that pertain to false rape reports focus on the current law, procedures for deciding what is a false report, and the prosecution for false reports. "No-Further-Action" statements are those made by victims who do not want police involvement beyond the initial report stage. The commission recommends review of the police procedures for recording and following up on such statements. Regarding the cross-examination of rape victims, the commission recommends attorney and judge education regarding the conduct and ethics of the cross-examination of rape victims. Appended recommendations for the implementation of non-legislative recommendations and 39 footnotes