Parliament has unanimously passed legislation that will
ensure the courts cannot issue a permanent name suppression
order for an adult convicted of a sexual offence, unless
the victim agrees to it.
The Victims of Sexual
Violence Bill had its third reading late on Wednesday
night.
It also amends the law so that children under
the age of 12 will not be able to be questioned about
whether they consented to sex.
The Justice Minister
Paul Goldsmith said this made it crystal clear children
could not consent to abuse.
New Zealand was now moving
into line with many other countries in outlawing
it.
“It was well overdue and needed to be
done.”
The law further closes what Goldsmith said was
a legislative gap, by ensuring the victims of all sexual
crimes, including intimate visual recordings offences, were
automatically given name suppression.
“These changes
will help ensure victims of sexual violence and their needs
are returned to the heart of the justice system. We’ve been
clear from day one that victims are our priority as we work
to restore law and order,” Goldsmith said in a media
release.
He said at present victims’ views on
suppression only had to be taken into account by the
courts.
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Long battles over name suppression
retraumatised victims, as did the inability to discuss what
happened to them and to warn others.
Goldsmith told
Morning Report he was concerned about people who had
gone through the court process and then found there was a
permanent name suppression for an offender and there was no
opportunity to talk about their experience and most
importantly, warn others.
“We’re talking about people
who have been convicted of sexual crimes and they need to be
named and held to account.”
While the legal profession
had expressed some concern around reducing the powers of
judges, he said it was a significant change focused on the
needs of victims and a chance to do things
differently.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell spoke on
behalf of the Justice Minister during the third
reading.
“It is abhorrent that the law allows
questions about whether children enjoyed or agreed to sexual
activity. We’re fixing that.
“It is unconscionable
that victims feel silenced by our laws especially when
they’ve braved the scrutiny of the court process to prove
their case. We’re fixing that too.”
Mitchell said
victims had been clear that name suppression settings had
disempowered victims, prevented them from speaking out about
their experiences and warning others.
New Zealanders
also believed the way children were questioned in court was
unacceptable, Mitchell said.
MP Kahurangi Carter spoke
in favour of the bill on behalf of the Green Party.
“I
know that we all feel this really heavily for victims under
12. It seems so obvious.
“I’m glad today we’re
bringing our legislation, our laws into line with what is
right.”
Goldsmith recognised some victims would not
want to make the decision about name suppression themselves.
In those cases, the decision would rest with the
courts.
He believed the changes would assist in
ensuring 20,000 fewer victims of violent crime by
2029.
While the bill was passed unanimously, there
were no Te Pāti Māori MPs in the House at the
time.
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