Anonymous
Victims don’t report because the legal system is stacked against them. It protects perpetrators and further traumatises victims
I am a survivor of sexual abuse and one of thousands of adult and child sexual assault survivors travelling through the Australian court system. Despite our numbers, we’re an elite crowd. According to the most recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics only about 8% of women report sexual assault to police; a fraction of these proceed to investigation; fewer again result in charges. A number of these – like mine – will make it to court. Of these, less than half get a guilty verdict. So while almost all homicides result in a conviction, fewer than 10% of sexual assault cases reported to police result in a conviction, making it one of the easiest crimes to get away with. The greatest disincentive for committing a crime is the fear of consequences. Yet consequences are something that very few perpetrators of sex crimes will ever have to worry about.
It took me several decades to report what happened to me, though many never do. Why? It’s just too damn painful. To start talking about it, and the most extreme version – to be cross-examined – involves awakening a part of you that felt like it was going to die if it stayed present to what was happening. As traumatic as doing this is, some survivors still choose to go to police, because it can feel therapeutic to confront what happened, to relive it, to fight it instead of going numb. We go to police as a sign of strength to ourselves. A desire to go back to the scene of the crime and, this time, to win. Unfortunately, however, few end up winning.
There are many reasons why hardly any cases make the distance. Many victims pull out, the investigation process is just too gruelling; other times, police believe there’s insufficient evidence. You see, the victim/prosecution must produce all the evidence, and the legal system makes this difficult. My perpetrator gave a “no comment” interview, which is his right. There were witnesses to the crimes but I’ve only been able to track down one, and he’s refused to provide a witness statement. The accused has also refused to provide the surnames of the others I’ve named as witnesses, which is his right, and can’t be mentioned in court. So even though the crimes against me were committed in the open, witnesses are not compelled to be witnesses, and those accused are not compelled to provide any vital information nor defence. They can all remain silent.
To make life even easier for the defence, they can demand to see the victim/complainant’s emails, text messages, diaries and other private data; the complainant cannot see anything from the accused. The victim then must endure a committal hearing, where the defence get to “test” the evidence – cross-examine them and all witnesses in order to find any potential gaps in their evidence, maybe something they can’t recall. The defence are not required to “decide their defence” until just before full trial, after having raided everything from the complainant’s life. This is considered fair, and supposedly the best process for achieving truth and justice. At no point must the accused simply tell the police or judge or jury what happened. Convincing a jury is entirely up to me and whatever evidence I can supply, while the defence shoots at holes in my memories.
I know what I’m up against but I will continue my fight for justice. It’s been more than three years already, I’ve survived the committal, and my trial will be next year; hopefully finished within four years. It feels never-ending. I dream about it constantly, I take medication for anxiety, it’s severely affected my work and relationships. I often question why I took this path. But I’m not just doing this for me.
When I gave evidence remotely during my committal, I met another woman giving evidence on the second day of her trial. English was her second language; she told me her sexual assault occurred during Covid. The defence barrister harassed her for hours, she said. She was unsure how to answer. She kept telling him she didn’t know, couldn’t remember. When she came out for breaks into the remote witness waiting room, she was panicking, crying, shaking.
The thought that women like us would “make this stuff up” is extraordinary.
I get frustrated when people ask why victims don’t report sexual assault, as if not reporting is evidence of fabrication. Victims don’t report because it’s traumatising and the legal system is stacked against them; it’s incredibly unlikely their perpetrator will be called to account.
When a crime is easy to get away with, crime rates remain high. Yes, blame always sits with the perpetrator. But with sex crimes, blame also sits with Australia’s legal system, which protects perpetrators, and fails and further traumatises victims.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
