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...
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...
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...
Rideshare Drivers – Unfairly Demonised by the Mainstream Media
It seems like every week there are mainstream media reports of rideshare drivers preying on their unsuspecting victims. One tabloid even claims the biggest rideshare company of them all, Uber, is hit with two sexual assault or misconduct claims every...
Government’s Payment of $3 Million to Brittany Higgins Referred to Corruption Watchdog
Just when you thought the Britany Higgins’ story had finally stopped making headlines, it is now under the spotlight again – this time because of the payout made to the complainant by the Morrison Government. The amount of the ex...
NSW Police Officer Found Guilty of Aggravated Sexual Assault of Teenager
A New South Wales Police Officer has been found guilty of having sexual intercourse with a child between the ages of 14 and 16 years. Former officer Troy Robert Cridland was refused bail and taken into custody after a jury...
Notorious Misogynist Charged with Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking
Self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, who also regularly professes homophobic and racist views, has been charged by Romanian authorities with several criminal offences including sexual assault and human trafficking. The notorious bigot’s brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women are also facing...
