The Sydney Feminists

Calling all feminist activists!! The NSW Law Reform Commission is reviewing the law surrounding consent in relation to sexual assault. They have released the Consultation Paper , which you can have a look at. To review the law, they are seeking feedback in the form of actual, formal submissions and from a survey they have created. You can remain anonymous. I urge you to respond to this review. T his is a way to get your voice heard, and we must collectively shout our displeasure with the current law. The current consent law has a blind spot, which I’ve written about before but to save your clicks, I’ll summarise: In NSW, when someone is on trial for sexual assault, the crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant did not consent. Anthony Whealy QC, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW, explained what effect this phrasing has within trials: “(this creates) the unfortunate consequence of focusing almost exclusively on the complainant ....

As I’ve written previously ( click here ), the laws surrounding sexual consent in NSW have a patchy grey area. In NSW, when someone is on trial for sexual assault, the crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant did not consent. NSW laws are structured in a way that puts the onus of proof on the victim: the victim must prove they did not give consent. The best practice example of consent laws in Australia is said to be either Tasmania or Victoria, wherein (according to Anthony Whealy QC, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW): “the crown must prove that the complainant gave free agreement to sexual intercourse taking place ... and the judge is asked to direct the jury that if the complaint said or did nothing at the time of the sexual intercourse, that means she did not give her free agreement.” As I’ve stated previously, this change switches the focus from the complainant to the accused. In this case, instead of focusing on the ways the complainant ...

You’ve probably heard the news about safe access zones and you’re probably as thrilled as I am with the result. This will be brief, but I’ve been waiting a long time to have good news in regards to reproductive health for women so allow me to indulge. Public Health Amendment (Safe Access to Reproductive Health Clinics) Bill 2018 passed. It passed. We did it. We took another step towards equality, towards respecting women, to improving safe medical care for women and a step away from patriarchal control. Credit: Twitter @PennySharpemlc So thank you to the ministers who listened to the women and people who needed this bill. And thank you to everyone who campaigned for this, or for the as yet unpassed End12/ decriminalisation of abortion over the past few years. What does this bill actually mean? This bill will establish 150m “safe access zones” around abortion clinics. Within the 150m it will be illegal to intimidate, harass or film people accessing the clinic. The bill a...

A year ago, in May 2017, the Abortion Law Reform bill–spearheaded by Greens’ MP Dr Mehreen Faruqi–was sadly defeated in the upper house. The bill was attempt to provide safe access zones and ensure removal of abortion from the NSW crimes act, allowing women (and of course non-binary and trans men, all affected by our patriarchal laws) to access necessary medical care without judgement or harassment. Though community opinion polling revealed the people of NSW overwhelmingly behind the removal of abortion offences from the NSW crimes act, a majority male parliament voted against the bill. Credit: Twitter Dr Faruqi said at the time : “I am disappointed that the NSW Legislative Council has voted to keep abortion a Crime in NSW, a position that is completely out of step with modern medical practice, community expectation and laws in almost all other states…  But the genie is out of the bottle now, more people than ever are awakened to this injustice and I am confident that u...