Nine months after reporting a man more than twice her age had groped her, an Illawarra woman is left without a sense of justice after navigating a system advocacy groups say is designed to protect her perpetrator.
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Amy*, who wishes to protect her identity, was in a car with the man and her friend when he reached over and grabbed her chest in May 2022.
Amy reported the incident in the police and the man was arrested, but it triggered a nine month process where the victim was threatened and intimidated and left feeling let down by the system after her perpetrator received a 12 month good behaviour bond.
"I was so annoyed, we think that he should have definitely gotten more, based on the fact that he's touched people, non consensually, and then said it was a bit of fun," she said.
Amy is one of many survivors of sexual and domestic violence who find the court process frustrating, if not re-traumatising. As Michelle Glasgow, general manager at Women Illawarra points out, victims are often unheard in the legal system.
"It's quite a difficult process for victims who are navigating the criminal justice system because the system is actually set up to protect the rights of the accused, and not necessarily, the rights of the victims," she said.
National sexual and domestic violence group Full Stop Australia found that many survivors of sexual violence found the criminal justice process to be worse than the violence itself.
The body has called for the introduction of sexual violence support officers, similar to support officers for domestic violence victims.
The frustration with the court system is occurring as sexual assaults rise rapidly.
Despite most other offences of violence against people decreasing, reported sexual assaults have risen for 10 years in a row. Since 1993, reported victims of sexual assault across Australia have more than doubled, while murders have nearly halved.
In Amy's case despite her perpetrator's bail conditions prohibiting him from going near or contacting her, she says she received frequent texts threatening her and her friend who was also in the car at the time. After entering a not guilty plea she said he would drive up and down her street and sent her sexually graphic text messages.
When the court date finally came around several months later Amy felt silenced as the process meant she was unable to share her experience.
"I thought we would be a lot more involved, that we were going to get justice for what had happened, the threats and the touching," she said.
"But it was a lot different, it was just, this is what's happened, and we couldn't tell any of our story."
Having pleaded guilty, an agreed statement of facts was given to the magistrate to determine the man's sentence. The man's lawyer was able to give submissions but the woman and her friend who witnessed the touching were not heard.
Amy said the magistrate did not get to hear the details of text messages sent to her by the man describing her sexually, attempts to bargain for her silence and outright threats. But what irked her the most was a supposed apology that the man's lawyer said his client had given Amy.
"Me and [my friend] looked at each other, and did a double take. That didn't happen."
Ms Glasgow said as the courts were inundated with matters, there was pressure to resolve the matters quickly.
"The courts are absolutely chock-a-block full of these matters, but victims must be consulted when they want to amend the facts and they must be respected when they say no, that's not the story. I want to tell my story."
In Amy's case, not only did she say she was not able to tell her side of the story, but that being in court itself was confusing and alienating.
"The police that we'd reported to, the officers in charge, they weren't there. The only people in the room were [the defendant's] lawyer, court staff, the magistrate and the prosecutor, but we'd never had communication with them, so we didn't know who it was."
While the court process has changed for domestic violence matters and some sexual violence matters, including allowing victims to testify via audio-visual link, not be cross-examined by their abuser and the presence of domestic violence liasion officers in court, Full Stop Australia have argued that similar reforms have not made their way to sexual violence cases. Ms Glasgow said there was room to improve.
"We certainly have a long, long way to go in making sure that we have proper support through the whole criminal procedure process," she said.
"There's still a lot of unconscious biases in individuals, across society - police, doctors, lawyers, judges, magistrates, journalists. We need to start to actively understand and educate ourselves about how these offences impact victims, what their responses and experiences of the criminal justice and reporting system can be, and just work to create an environment where even if legal action isn't pursued, there's social supports and community supports put in place to help those victims heal from these these offences."
At the end of the hearing, after the magistrate read out the sentence, a twelve month conditional release order, commonly known as a good behaviour bond - and Amy was left with more hurt and frustration than when the day began.
*Amy is not the victim's real name.
- Support is available for those who have experienced family, domestic or sexual violence. Call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for 24-hour support or Women Illawarra on 4228 1499. If someone is in danger, call 000.
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