Sitting in her book-lined corner office at Victoria’s Law Reform Commission, Jennifer Coate is charting the “considerable progress” she says she’s witnessed over her decades-long career working in the criminal justice system.
When she first started out as a lawyer, she says the notion of consent was “not discussed” and only victims of “stranger rapes” were taken seriously – but only if they hadn’t been out late or dressed provocatively.
In court, there were no restrictions on discussing a victim’s sexual history, while defendants were allowed to make “unsworn statements” from the dock – essentially whatever they liked, without being under oath or cross-examined.
