Samantha was attacked by a man she thought was her friend. Fear stopped her pursuing justice. Sadly, she’s far from alone.
The feeling of arms violently pushing *Samantha onto the couch is etched into her memory as if it was yesterday.
BOSCAR tracked the progress of sexual assaults reported to police in 2018 through the criminal justice system. “The low conviction rate … shows no sign of abating and may have become slightly worse in the past decade as sexual assault reports have dramatically increased.”Experts say the criminal justice system is failing sexual assault survivors.
“We say, get legal advice, get counselling, support, and make informed decisions,” she said. “There are services out there.”“I have heard from other people who’ve had similar experiences and they’ve tried to go to police and gotten nowhere,” she said. “Added to this is the ‘belief-disbelief’ dynamic inherent in sexual violence reports, which we see play out very publicly in the news and on social media,” she said.
In 2023, the force introduced a process that ensures any sexual matter reported to police that does not proceed to charge was assessed by an experienced committee.The Australian Law Reform is reviewing the justice response to sexual violence across the country, with a report due in 2025.
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