Do Courts Have to Use Preferred Pronouns for Transgender Defendants in Criminal Cases?
Earlier this month, children’s book author JK Rowling tweeted the following in regard to a new practice note that applies to South Australian courts regarding preferred pronouns: Asking a woman to refer to her male rapist or violent assaulter as...
How Much Will My Sentence Be Reduced If I Plead Guilty?
A 64-year old man facing 23 allegations of historical child sexual offences, including having sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16-years, has changed his plea from not guilty to guilty just hours after his trial started. The...
Can Good Character References Be Used During Sentencing Proceedings for Child Sex Offences?
Two young men are on a campaign to prohibit those who plead guilty or are found guilty of child sexual offences from using good character references during their sentencing hearings, which is the time when the magistrate or judge decides...
The Law, Penalties and Defences Relating to Child Prostitution in NSW
New South Wales has decriminalised prostitution (‘sex work’) involving consenting adults but, and perhaps needless to say, child sexual offences including conduct relating to child prostitution are treated very seriously by the law and the courts. Here is an outline...
Vatican Accuses Australian Bishop of Sexual Offences
An independent report commissioned by the Vatican has labelled a Catholic Bishop from Western Australia a ‘sexual predator’, accusing him of sexually assaulting four Indigenous youths and grooming dozens of others. Vatican commissioned investigation The Vatican confirmed it commissioned the...
What Constitutes ‘Penetration’ for a Sexual Assault Offence in NSW?
Sexual offences in New South Wales have always distinguished between non-consensual physical activity involving actual penetration – including the historical offence of rape which was abolished in 1981 and the offence carnal knowledge which was abolished in 1986 – and non-penetrative,...
Russell Brand: Next on the #MeToo Sexual Abuser Hitlist
Following the well-publicised convictions in the United States of Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Bill Cosby - the last of which was subsequently overturned - the latest in a series of sexual assault allegations to come in the...
A History of Sexual Consent Laws in Australia
Throughout history, sexual consent laws have historically been intrinsically linked with child sexual abuse laws. In recent years, following the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse and the high profile sexual assault trial of Saxon Mullins, both sexual consent and child...
‘Sextortion’ Can Amount to a Criminal Offence Across Australia
According to recent media reports, there has been a rise of attempts as Australia at ‘sexual extortion’, abbreviated to ‘sextortion’, with social media sites being used to target and blackmail victims, many of whom are young men concerned about compromising...
Spain’s ‘MeToo Moment”: Sexual Touching or Blown Out of Proportion?
Unless you’re not into the world sport of football, or as we call in here in Australia, soccer, you’ll know Spain’s 1:0 win over England in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final was marred by controversy after the president of...
