A person's 'good' character will no longer be considered in sentencing for sexual crimes after the NSW Parliament passed laws today, including safeguard provisions that were supported by all non-government Members of the Legislative Council last week.
The amended version of the Bill will ensure that women who are victims of domestic violence, but who have retaliated against their abusers, will still be able to put forward evidence of their good character to avoid incarceration or conviction, as will other cohorts of vulnerable people.
On the same day the laws have passed, the Government has announced they will have a second go to abolish character for all offences.
Greens MP, Solicitor and spokesperson for Justice Sue Higginson said:
"Today the NSW Parliament has passed nation-leading reforms to remove the notion of good character as a consideration in sentencing for sexual offences, and giving Courts the power to disregard character evidence for other serious crimes,
"I am astounded that the Attorney General would immediately announce that he intends to try again to abolish character as a mitigating factor entirely. This Government seems determined to run roughshod over the Parliament and the evidence,
"Through amendments, the opposition and crossbench have ensured that vulnerable people can still put forward evidence of their good character for other offences to avoid harsher sentences,
"The Minns Labor Government wants to tell a woman who is a victim of domestic violence, who retaliates against her abuser, that she should be locked away because she is unable to put forward evidence of her good character.
"The opposition and crossbench should once again tell the Government they have this wrong and must back the evidence from experts like Domestic Violence NSW, the Bar Association, the Law Society and the Aboriginal Legal Service,
"Our amendments give Courts the power to disregard character evidence for the most serious criminals, but to maintain character for vulnerable people who do not deserve to go to prison. Sentencing is a complex process that must be left up to judges, not politicians,
"The parliament should not make life harder for domestic violence victims and vulnerable people, but in no uncertain terms that is what Labor intends to do," Ms Higginson said.
A Community Restorative Centre staff member said:
"I experienced childhood sexual assault when I was quite young. I think it's really important to recognise that not everyone who has experienced sexual assault supports the whole-scale abolition of good character considerations by courts,
"People in the community will be at risk of longer sentences and further harm from the criminal legal system if good character is completely abolished in sentencing. This includes women who are misidentified as perpetrators of domestic and family violence- which particularly impacts First Nations women, people convicted of non-violent crimes, and peaceful protestors."
A Community Restorative Centre staff member, Damien Linnane, said:
"As a survivor of childhood sexual assault, I firmly believe people who commit these crimes should be held to account. I also believe sentencing should be at the discretion of judges, rather than politicians, and removing good character submissions doesn't make society safer. People who are campaigning to remove good character submissions are well-meaning, but either fail to understand or choose to ignore that a judge being able to take 'good character' into consideration doesn't mean that they will."
