Elise Archer,Attorney-General
The Hodgman Liberal Government is calling for feedback on the Discussion Paper into section 194K of the Evidence Act 2001.
Section 194K of the Evidence Act 2001 currently prohibits the identification of complainants in sexual offence proceedings, including when the person is an adult at the time of publication and consents to being identified, without a court order.
The Discussion Paper outlines the current laws in both Tasmania and other jurisdictions, to inform future potential reform.
As I have said publicly already, we are open to considering changes to section 194K of the Evidence Act 2001 to ensure it appropriately protects the rights of all victims of sexual assault.
In any reform it will be imperative that these sensitive matters strike the right balance between protecting all victims of sexual assault and the public interest in open justice.
It remains vitally important that appropriate checks are in place to ensure that where one victim may wish to publicly speak of their experience, that such action does not unduly impact on other victims who wish to remain anonymous.
Our Government recognises that some members of the community have expressed concerns that this provision may not currently strike the right balance, and therefore I look forward to hearing the views of stakeholders and community members in response to the Discussion Paper.
