Justice Reform Initiative Media Release, 14 March 2025
The Justice Reform Initiative welcomes key findings of the Law Reform Commission’s recent report ‘Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Response to Sexual Violence’, particularly the recommendations focused on expanding access to restorative justice processes in all Australian jurisdictions.
The report recognises the failure of the formal justice system to meet the needs of people who have experienced sexual harm, and makes critical recommendations about the need for resourcing, and legislating restorative alternatives to provide greater choice and control for survivors of sexual violence.
Justice Reform Initiative Executive Director, Dr Mindy Sotiri, urged policymakers to adopt the report’s recommendation for widely available restorative justice, including processes that are able to operate outside of the justice system.
“We know that the vast majority of survivors do not end up engaging with the formal justice system, or if they do, they don’t end up having their cases proceed to court. We also know that adversarial court processes often re-traumatise survivors of sexual harm. The evidence is very clear that restorative processes have the potential to afford victims of crime the ability to have their experience of harm properly heard and acknowledged, alongside holding perpetrators of harm accountable.”
“The Commission's report highlights the evidence about the efficacy of restorative justice, emphasises the importance of choice for survivors of crime, identifies the enormous gaps in terms of both supports and alternative processes for victims, and offers concrete recommendations about how to address these gaps.”
“In a climate where decisions about justice policy and legislation are too often politicised, this report is an important opportunity for policymakers to look to the evidence about what actually works and respond to the voices of victims who are calling for both choice and practical, evidence-based alternatives”.
Media contact: Pia Akerman 0412 346 746
The Initiative respectfully acknowledges and supports the current and longstanding efforts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to reduce the numbers of Indigenous people incarcerated in Australia and, importantly, the leadership role which Indigenous-led organisations continue to play on this issue. We also acknowledge the work of many other individuals and organisations seeking change, such as those focused on the rate of imprisonment for women, people with mental health issues, people with disability and others.