Evidence of Sexual Offences in Queensland

Evidence of Sexual Offences in Queensland

Introduction

There is a growing debate over the legal proceedings of the sexual offence cases in Queensland. Concerns gathered over the provision of evidences in the sexual offence cases. Sexual offence cases are difficult to treat because it is hard to prove sexual offence conducted. Moreover, the evidences that refer to the victim's or defendant's past incidences of sexual offence are vulnerable since they could misguide the prosecutor. It can also give people the opportunity of accusing someone wrongfully in pursuance of revenge. Thus, the court stays cautious over the evidences in sexual offence cases and restricts both parties from presenting some evidences. The complexities and difficulties in proving the sexual assault have resulted in under-reporting of the sexual assault cases in Queensland. This paper looks at the Queensland law regarding the evidence presentation in court on sexual offence cases. The paper first presents a brief background on juror attitudes and biases regarding sexual assault cases. It then elaborates on the evidence law relevant to sexual offence cases in Queensland and the recent reforms in it. After that, the paper presents issues of the law regarding sexual offence cases. Finally, the paper moves on to demonstrate situations in Queensland followed by conclusion (AIC, 2009).

Attitudes and Biases of Jurors in Sexual Offences (Lack of Conviction)

Sexual assault acts are the hardest criminal offences to prosecute. The reasons behind the difficulty are due to three factors. First the criminal act performed was private. Second there is minimal supporting material regarding the crime. Third the argument exists in which one person argues against another in terms of opinion. The decision duty of the Crown is to give a verdict without any doubt that a defendant or offender is guilty. In this scenario, the defendant got considered innocent until evidence supports otherwise. In this regard, the prosecutors have the dilemma of giving convictions that support the claim of their client that an offender is guilty. The prosecutor needs to convince the jury and judge that a criminal act took place, there was no mutual consent, and an advantage taken by the complainant of the defendant when the permission got implied or given (Taylor, 2007).

The hardest task that arises is convincing judge and jury that a crime got committed when there are no witnesses, limited or no evidence, and it comes down a person's word versus another. With such difficult odds and minimal resources, prosecutors have the responsibility to produce a decision of whether they want to prosecute the case or should they let it go. The statistics suggest that 70% of sexual offences committed are not reported, and 10% of incidents of the cases reported are found guilty according to the Australian Institute of Criminology. The prosecution's decision on taking a case or not is based on two factors. First can the argument outcome or have a success probability. Second do the expectations created by the complainant and her story seem favourable to the jury and ...