NCJ Number
90161
Date Published
1982
Length
42 pages
Annotation
These law reform recommendations for rape and sexual offenses in Tasmania (Australia) are in the areas of substantive law, evidentiary law, procedural matters, and the treatment of victims.
Abstract
Eleven recommendations are offered in the area of substantive law, and they include the abolition of the immunity of husbands from prosecution for rape, the abolition of the presumption that males under 14 years-old are incapable of having sexual intercourse, the recommendation that sexual offenses be nonspecific in gender, and restructuring of sexual offenses. Four recommendations relate to evidentiary law; they include (1) the prohibition of all evidence disclosing or implying that the complainant has or may have participated in any prior sexual activity, with the exception of evidence of past sexual conduct with the defendant and to explain the source of semen, pregnancy, or disease, where it is relevant to a fact at issue; (2) the abrogation of the requirement that evidence be corroborated and the requirement that the jury be warned of the danger of convicting on uncorroborated evidence; and (3) the retention of the rule which allows an accused to make an unsworn statement from the dock, with a recommended limiting proviso on what can be included in the statement. Five recommendations bear upon procedural matters; they pertain to jury composition, committal proceedings, publicity, the place of trial, and the noninclusion of time limits on the hearing of sexual assault cases. Recommendations on the treatment of victims relate to police handling of the case, the use of rape or sexual assault squads, police education, code of procedure, medical and community care, and financial compensation. The appendixes include a questionnaire soliciting comments on the commission's working paper and portions of the proposed Northern Territory Criminal Code.