As reported in the Herald Sun this morning, changes to the Judicial Proceedings Reports Act introduced in February now mean that sexual assault victims can be jailed if they talk about their experiences while using their real names.
Victims are now prohibited from identifying themselves in publications such as media and autobiographies, whether they consent to their name being used or not.
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In this state, it is now an offence to publish the identity of a sexual assault victim where the offender has been found guilty or where charges have been laid against an offender and proceedings are still pending, regardless of the victim’s consent.
Victims can consent to being identified in the media only if no charges have ever been laid against the accused, all proceedings have been disposed of and no guilty verdict was reached, and other victims will not be able to be identified as a result of the victim speaking out.
Punishments for breaking this law include up to four months jail (including the victim themselves), $3,300 fines for individuals and $8,200 fines for corporations.
The #LetUsSpeak campaign will be launching in Victoria today and have started a GoFundMe page to help victims with legal costs.
To read survivor’s stories and to learn more, click here.
