News and resources

Victorian government pays $8 million settlement to sexual abuse survivor Recent cases in Australia demonstrate that institutions can be vicariously liable for sexual abuse. In 2024 a survivor of sexual abuse by a teacher at a Melbourne primary school was awarded an $8 million settlement against the Victorian Education Department, in what is believed to […]

Coercive control is a frequently hidden form of domestic abuse that includes physical, sexual, psychological, emotional and financial abuse of one individual by another. Figures show coercive control a significant problem The Bureau of Statistics figures on domestic abuse are shocking. One in four women and one in eight men have experienced domestic violence by […]

Surveys have found that half the population of Australia is confused about the new sexual consent laws and men in particular find it difficult to understand exactly when and how to ask for consent. Government campaign to explain legal requirements Now the federal government has launched a $40 million 12-month campaign across media to explain […]

Recently there has been a lot of publicity about new Commonwealth laws, taking effect toward the end of 2023, aimed at preventing and addressing sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. Recurring themes in this publicity are the stimulus for these laws, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (2020); and the phrase […]

Concerns with the use of artificial intelligence on the internet are growing, due to its potential to design powerful toxins, control robo-missiles, perpetuate online scams, spread misinformation and lies, and create AI-generated deepfake imagery and porn. Children exploiting deepfake imagery for bullying Australia’s online safety regulator reports AI-generated sexually explicit imagery and deepfake porn are […]

Before you could be called up for jury duty to decide the guilt or innocence of an accused, the fate of the person before the court was usually decided by a priest in the belief that God would intervene on behalf of the innocent. Court trials before juries existed In the past there was no […]

Ex-partner accused of break and enter In a recent case involving a break and enter charge, woman was terrified when her former boyfriend kicked down the front door, breaking three locks, forced his way into the apartment, shook her and threw her phone to the floor when she tried to call police. The two had […]

Both NSW and Queensland are expected to criminalise coercive control by the end of 2022 following parliamentary inquiries in both states. The move aims to strengthen measures to combat domestic violence, particularly as coercive control typically precedes intimate partner homicide. What is coercive control? NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said the government was consulting on introducing […]

Roe v Wade establishes constitutional protection for abortion in 1973 If you had recently asked someone about the significance of the US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Womens’ Health Organisation, you’d likely get a blank look. But if you had referred to “the case that overturned Roe v Wade”, it would be quite […]

NSW implements affirmative consent laws in June 2022 People in NSW are required by law to give and obtain consent before they engage in a sex act. Affirmative consent laws came into operation on 1 June 2022, after being passed by the NSW parliament in November 2021. What is consent? Consent is defined in the […]