Crown

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• This included the unacceptable treatment of victim-survivors when giving evidence that was characteristic of rape trials.
• In 2023, on paper, the laws governing offence definitions, evidence rules and trial procedure are very different from those that operated in the 1970s.
• In sharing our main findings here, we want to acknowledge the complainants in the sexual offence trials examined in this report.

The study

We examined more than 30,000 pages of transcripts from 75 sexual offence trials finalised in the District Court of NSW between 2014 and 2020. Our primary aim was to assess the adequacy of existing arrangements for meeting the legitimate needs and expectations of complainants. Our findings can roughly be divided into two categories: aspects of trials that have changed for the better, and those that have not (yet) been reformed.

Improvements

• We found that procedural reforms designed to improve complainant experience in sexual offence trials were generally operating as intended.
• This included arrangements such as allowing complainants to give evidence via CCTV from a remote location.
• Read more:
  Four in ten Australians think women lie about being victims of sexual assault

Trial features that persist

• Importantly, this wasn’t just a result of how defence lawyers cross-examined the complainant – the prosecution case was also often built on the foundation of one or more “real rape” attributes.
• The defence often played the other side of the “real rape” coin, highlighting the absence of features traditionally associated with a “genuine” allegation.
• These included distressing matters such as the complainant’s history of mental illness, substance use, criminal convictions or having had children removed from their care.

Further reforms

Much has changed in terms of how complainants are questioned in sexual offence trials, but there is more still to do. Our report for the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research identified a number of further reforms that warrant consideration. These include:
These measures could contribute to the long overdue removal from sexual offence trials of rape myths and stereotypes and unfair scrutiny of complainants. Julia Quilter receives funding from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and the Australian Research Council .

• The Project will be among the world's first wind-to-green-hydrogen projects at commercial scale with green hydrogen production beginning in late 2025.
• Sean Leet, Managing Director and CEO of World Energy GH2, thanks the province for their work on helping develop this new industry.
• John Risley, Chairman of World Energy GH2, says the Canada – Germany Hydrogen Alliance, signed in Aug. 2022, continues to advance.
• "One year later, Project Nujio'qonik is on track to help fulfil Canada's green hydrogen commitments, and to produce green hydrogen in 2025.

• The spate of Quran-burning incidents followed an act of desecration by far-right activist Rasmus Paludan on Jan. 21, 2023, in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
• On Aug. 25, Denmark’s government said it would “criminalize” desecration of religious objects and moved a bill banning the burning of scriptures.
• As a scholar of European studies, I’m interested in how modern European societies are trying to navigate the fine line between freedom of expression and the need to prevent incitement of hatred; a few are introducing laws specifically addressing hate speech.

Death penalty for insulting God and church

• For instance, the Danish Code from 1683 punished people by cutting off their tongue, head or hands.
• In 1636, English Puritan settlers in Massachusetts instituted the penalty of death for blasphemy.
• Advocating for a strict separation of church and state, France became the first country to repeal its blasphemy law in 1881.

European landscape of blasphemy laws

• Several countries in Europe retain blasphemy laws, but their approaches are highly varied.
• Often the laws may not prevent present-day acts like dishonoring of religious texts.
• Austria and Switzerland have laws quite similar to Germany’s in this regard.
• This case later went up to the European Court of Human Rights, which supported the Viennese court’s decision.

Contemporary debate

• A few countries are introducing new legislation to curb hate speech against religious communities.
• Sweden passed a hate speech law in 1970 protecting racial, ethnic, religious and sexual minorities.
• Because of the existing hate speech law focusing on incitement against minorities rather than religions, the activist received a fine from the police.

A global challenge

• Even in the U.S., there’s an ongoing debate about the boundaries of free speech.
• The First Amendment of the Constitution allows free speech, which some can interpret as the right to burn holy books.
• Scholar of law and religion Jane Wise suggested that the U.S. could follow the English example by banning hate speech.
• As societies change, I believe it has become important to recognize when freedom of speech has turned into promoting hatred.