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WA Law Reform Commission to review sexual assault laws
Western Australia’s Law Reform Commission and the Department of Justice have been tasked with reviewing the state’s sexual assault laws.
Naomi Neilson
Credit: Methodist Ladies' College
The Law Reform Commission, chaired by former Supreme Court judge the Honourable Lindy Jenkins, has been asked by the government to consider whether the existing sexual assault laws should be amended. Among other things, it may make a recommendation to expand the laws to include affirmative consent.
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State Attorney-General John Quigley said he was “acutely aware that we need to continue to modernise our laws and processes” to assist victim-survivors.
Running concurrently, the Department of Justice will conduct its own review to examine the end-to-end criminal justice process for victims of sexual offending, from reporting an offence through to the release from custody of the offender.
Law Society president Rebecca Lee is in support of the reviews and said she looks forward to the opportunity to participate in both consultation processes.
“This is a valuable opportunity to walk beside victim-survivors and the community in general, to ensure any draft legislation released as part of preparing the report to government is reflective of and achieves current community standards,” she said.
