Create new legal protections for child sexual abuse victims in criminal cases

Background

Enact legal protections for child sexual abuse victims in criminal investigations & court proceedings to prevent re-traumatisation, including a limit on their exposure to recorded interviews of themselves giving evidence & a statutory time limit for the defence to submit cross-examination questions.

Additional details

We support legislation which aims to protect child survivors of sexual abuse from unnecessary re-traumatisation during the criminal justice process. Children can be asked to revisit evidence years after disclosure, which could cause further harm and repeated trauma. We call for legal safeguards including limits on a victim’s exposure to recorded interviews of themselves and a clear, legally mandated timeframe for submitting defence questions.

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