Calls for more legal avenues for assault, harassment cases
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With many women reluctant to report sexual assault or harassment, former district court judge Anette Schoombee says consideration should be given to non-criminal avenues for victims to pursue their culprit.
A highly respected decade-long veteran of Western Australia’s district court, Ms Schoombee also advocated for better education for victims and judges on the experience of women in the courts.
Chanel Contos started a national discussion after launching a petition.
Liliana Zaharia
“The whole process starts from the premise on the defence’s side that you are lying or making it up or you are exaggerating. So, you have to recount a very traumatic experience under those circumstances,” she said.
She said she is also holding a meeting with the federal government soon . This is not political to me. I m speaking to whoever I can and need to in order to get this out there as soon as possible, she said.
The former Sydney school student, now studying in London, started the petition calling for a more comprehensive sex education curriculum several months ago. Since then, she has received around 6,200 anonymous testimonies from current and former private school students across the country.
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The operation makes victims aware of the NSW Police Sexual Assault Reporting Option (SARO) - an online questionnaire enabling them to share their story without formally reporting the matter to police. It does not launch a criminal investigation but keeps the information detailed on record if the alleged perpetrator or perpetrators are reported for similar offences in future.