Grace Tame confirms government will tackle sexual assault legislation
Former Australian of the Year and sexual assault survivor Grace Tame has previously called on consistent sexual abuse legislation across all jurisdictions.
She has now shared a letter from Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus who is taking “sexual abuse seriously at a national level”.
The letter contains a five-year plan agreed to by Mr Dreyfus and the other Australian Attorneys-General on August 12, to discuss state and federal movements.
The plan is described as “one of its kind” and comes with Mr Dreyfus thanking Ms Tame for her consistent hard work to tackle the issue when it was first raised on 12 November, 2021.
“All Attorneys-General agreed to endorse and publish the Work Plan to Strengthen Criminal Justice Responses to Sexual Assault 2022-2027,” the letter read.
“It focuses on three national priority areas: strengthening legal frameworks, building justice sector capability, and supporting greater research and collaboration.
“The five-year Work Plan builds on existing and prospective activities across Australia to improve justice responses to sexual assault.
“Under the Work Plan, the Australian state and territory governments will take individual and collective action on the important issue of criminal justice responses to sexual assault.
“Its implementation will be supported by a multi-jurisdictional Working Group comprised of justice officials.”
Mr Dreyfus revealed that for the Work Plan to progress, his department and The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) is working on a national review and comparative analysis of sexual assault and child abuse legislation around the country.
“The review will identify the impact of any substantive inconsistencies between legal frameworks, any gaps in criminalised conduct and explore best practice approaches.”
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