It will be harder for people charged with incest, grooming a young person and sexual assault in the third degree to get bail, under proposed changes to the ACT law.
Currently, people charged with these crimes face a presumption they should be released on bail, meaning it is more difficult to remand them in custody while they await trial.
But the changes would make it so there was a neutral presumption on bail. It will effectively mean a person charged with these crimes will have to make a stronger case to the court about why they should receive bail.
The bill would also abolish the offence of aiding and abetting family violence order breaches, and make changes to streamline court proceedings related to family and personal violence orders.
Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said the changes were aimed at improving the experiences of sexual assault and family violence survivors in the court.
"We know we can make the system easier to navigate, more accessible and more trauma informed," Mr Rattenbury said.
"Here is a series of really practical amendments that are designed to improve the experience of victim-survivors."
The abolition of the offence of aiding and abetting family violence order breaches was to protect victims who can be charged with that.
"The relationship between family violence offenders and their victims is a complex one. People can often reconcile in relationships; there's a complex power dynamic," Mr Rattenbury said.
"This bill today seeks to remove an offence where the victim of family violence can be charged with aiding and abetting a breaching of an order.
"What we can see is that can be used as a power tool by potential offenders to control their victims, we want to make sure that victims are not being trapped through an unintended consequence of the law."
The proposed changes came following a damning 2021 report into the ACT's responses to sexual assault. The report found victim-survivors were faced with a system that failed to meet their needs and they are often retraumatised through their experiences with the territory's justice system, community and government agencies.
"This bill has been developed over the few months and is one of a series of bills that have come through the Assembly, really arising from the government response to the prevention of sexual harm report that was tabled in December 2021," Mr Rattenbury said.
-
Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
