Andersen GinnyVICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE (STRENGTHENING LEGAL PROTECTIONS) LEGISLATION BILLVICTIMS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE (STRENGTHENING LEGAL PROTECTIONS) LEGISLATION BILLFirst ReadingsHon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister of Justice): I present legislative statements on the Victims of Sexual Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Bill and the Victims of Family Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Those legislative statements are published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I move That the Victims of Sexual Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Bill and the Victims of Family Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice Committee to consider these bills.Improving justice outcomes for victims of family violence and sexual violence has been a top priority for this Government and I'm very proud to present both of these bills to the House today. Together these bills are a key element of the three-year victims' work programme that the Government announced earlier in the year. Since National left office our Government has tripled the funding for the Victims Assistance Scheme and doubled the funding for Victim Support. We've passed the Sexual Violence Legislation Act established Te Aorerekura to improve access to family violence assistance in the community and we have established three new pilots in the courts to improve victim safety ensure they're heard in bail decisions and strengthen the support for child victims of sexual violence. We are delivering on our promise to build a justice system that serves all New Zealanders.These bills address three issues with current legislative settings and the changes that they will bring are these: addressing problematic lines of questioning and aligning the penalties of sexual offences when the victim is a child removing barriers to lift victims' automatic name suppression and to provide new ways to address litigation abuse in family proceedings. Currently the law allows for children who are victims of sexual offending to be cross-examined about whether they liked wanted or even enjoyed what has happened to them. This is absolutely unacceptable. How can it happen under current settings when an offender is charged with sexual violation because consent is relevant to the offence? It does not need to be like this. The age-specific offence known as sexual connection with a child has a built-in protection that means consent is irrelevant.However prosecutors don't often pursue this charge because the sentence attached to it is 14 years which is lower than that under the sexual violation offence which is 20 years. These amendments therefore increase the maximum penalty of sexual connection with a child from 14 to 20 years' imprisonment to align with the penalty for sexual violation. Sexual offending against children should be subject to the same or greater penalty as offending against adults certainly not a lesser one. We are also amending the offence of sexual violation so it cannot be charged if the victim is under 12 years old. This takes the question of consent off the table when a young victim is involved. It also ensures that the law leans into those safeguards that already exist for child victims which to date have been underused.The second issue we're addressing relates to some of the barriers that victims face when trying to lift their automatic name suppression. The intent behind automatic name suppression for complainants in sexual cases was to protect their privacy during a deeply personal and difficult time in their life. While it is crucial to continue protecting victims of sexual violence it is also important to recognise that not everyone needs or wants protection in this way. In fact some people want others to know what has happened to them. In recent years the Me Too and Let Her Speak movements have played a vital role in empowering victims to speak out to tell their stories and let others know that they are not alone. Victims of sexual violence can apply to lift their automatic name suppression if they want to but the system is not currently set up in a way that supports that choice. We're strengthening these settings by bringing forward changes that better supports victims' autonomy. This includes a new requirement for the court to consider a victim's views about their automatic suppression and minor changes to update the language of the law. These amendments will give victims greater say over their story and help the law better reflect society's expectations in these areas.They will also work with separate updates that are progressing to the Criminal Procedure Rules 2012 which will clarify the process for lifting name suppression. Many don't know this is even an option and often those that do not know they don't know where to start. Some have paid thousands of dollars for independent legal advice to help them apply but this should never happen. Lifting suppression is free of cost. The fact that some victims feel that they need to pay out of their own pocket to get the support they need means the system is failing them. It needs to be simpler streamlined and more accessible. Whether a victim wishes to remain anonymous or speak out we need to make sure our justice system supports the choice of victims.Finally we are strengthening the courts' statutory powers to protect victims of litigation abuse in family proceedings. Litigation abuse is when someone uses the court system to harass contact or control their victim rather than to resolve legitimate disputes. I'd like to acknowledge the work and the advocacy of Emily Henderson in this space. She's been a strong proponent of this change in the law and she'll be very pleased to see this bill be in the House today. These may present fabricated allegations—this way of being vexatious through the court proceedings. People can file multiple and unnecessary court documents that take time energy and money to respond to. They may raise issues to punish humiliate or even force the other party to engage with them. It's essentially using the court system against a victim. Using the court system to further cause harm is unacceptable. Family disputes relate to some of the most intimate parts of our lives. They can affect the care of our children where we live and what we own. They can impact whether we see our loved ones and whether we feel safe.Litigation abuse and family proceedings can form part of a wider pattern of violence and abuse against the victim. We are making it particularly harmful. Current protections against litigation abuse focus on the specific number and nature of proceedings rather than the wider patterns of abuse. The threshold which must be met for a victim to access these protections is high and is particularly difficult to meet in family proceedings. The settings can also fail to address patterns of abuse which have developed or been perpetuated over time. The changes we are making address these existing limitations. These amendments are designed to apply in a court where family proceedings may be heard. They cover cases about care arrangements for children dividing relationship property following a separation and also for family violence. Under the new provisions the court must look at the person's behaviour both in and out of the court. If there is evidence of litigation abuse the court can make an order that requires the court to review any further steps that a person takes in family proceedings or any new family proceedings they start to ensure that they are appropriate before allowing them to proceed. This balances the needs to protect victims with the right to justice and also access to the courts. These rights are of great importance in family proceedings which affect fundamental aspects of people's lives. The intention of these changes is to emphasise that the court is there to resolve legitimate disputes and not to perpetuate that abuse.I'm proud to bring these bills to the House today because of what they mean for New Zealanders. We are delivering on our promise to build a justice system that serves all and these bills bring us one step closer to providing better outcomes for victims within our justice system. I commend these bills to the House.