The Journeys of Complainant Witnesses for Sexual Violence Crimes in the New Zealand Justice System

Abstract

When a person survives an act of sexual violence, they are often left traumatised by the experience. If they are one of the minority of sexual violence victim/survivors who report the assault to police, and one of the fewer still whose case is taken to trial, they are often surprised to encounter a justice process that in some cases causes almost as much distress as the original assault. This research aimed to improve understanding of the experiences of these complainant witnesses going through the New Zealand justice system, from reporting the offence through to sentencing and the early post-trial period. Specific foci of the research included understanding what the most negative and most positive aspects of the process are, as well as what supports are most beneficial for complainant witnesses. This was a qualitative study, in which nine complainant witnesses and four support staff were interviewed about their experiences of the justice process and their perception of complainant witness’ experiences, respectively. Four topics were identified: Experiences of the justice process, impact on self, support, and recommendations for change. Within these topics, a total of 15 themes were identified, and related generally to overall negative experiences of the justice system, with some positive aspects. The main negative experiences were related to delay and experiences within the courtroom, in particular, cross-examination. There was an overall negative impact on complainant witness’ physical and mental health as a result of the stress of the trial, and although the supports offered were deemed necessary and good in quality, the general consensus was that support agencies were under-resourced. The findings of this research indicate that despite some positive attempts at reform in the past twenty years, the experiences of complainant witnesses in sexual violence trials remain predominantly negative. Recommendations for change from participants included suggestions to reduce delay; to introduce specialist training and specialist courts for sexual violence trials; to have judge only trials; to improve access to support; to improve access to alternative modes of evidence; to allow feedback to the court from complainant witnesses; and to abandon the adversarial model for sexual violence crimes. The recommendations from the research participants are in line with current and past recommendations from experts in the area, including the New Zealand Law Commission, and suggest that much can and should be done to improve the way that sexual violence victim/survivors experience the justice process.