The Law Reform Commission of Western Australia and the Department of Justice are to conduct separate, but complementary, reviews into the laws relating to sexual offending in the State.
Announcing the reviews, Attorney General, John Quigley said the Commission would review the sexual offence laws contained in the Criminal Code in order to provide advice on possible amendments.
Mr Quigley said the Commission, chaired by former Supreme Court Judge, Lindy Jenkins, would consider whether there was any need for reform, including specifically to the law of consent.
“This will involve factors that might invalidate consent such as coercion, fraud or deception, and whether ‘special verdicts’ should be used,” he said.
The Attorney General said the Department, through the Office of the Commissioner for Victims of Crime, would undertake a separate project examining the end-to-end criminal justice process for victims of sexual offending, from reporting an offence to the release from custody of the offender.
“It will consider a range of matters including the experience of adult victim-survivors; the factors which contribute to the under-reporting of sexual offences, and alternative and innovative mechanisms for receiving, investigating and resolving sexual offence complaints,” he said.
Mr Quigley said there was a growing awareness and deep concern in the community in relation to sexual offending.
“I am acutely aware that we need to continue to modernise our laws and processes to assist victim-survivors to get justice in every way we can,” he said.
“The Law Reform Commission is ideally placed to interrogate issues in relation to sexual offence laws, particularly how the criminal law deals with the concept of ‘consent’.”
Mr Quigley said the Department’s end-to-end review would be crucial in determining and fixing issues in the criminal justice system’s treatment of allegations of sexual offending.
He said the Government would consider the Commission’s recommendations when it released its final report, due on 1 July 2023.
“The Department of Justice will complete its review and provide the Government with its recommendations by 1 May 2024,” Mr Quigley said.
