The question for the Victorian Law Reform Commission is whether such a move would curb the behaviour of the alleged offender rather than forcing victims to curb theirs.
- Emeritus Professor, The University of Melbourne
Criminal trials may hold offenders to account but they are far from perfect. The Victorian Law Reform Commission is looking at how restorative justice could be used for sexual offences.
Programs designed to enhance legal access for people with cognitive disabilities accused of a crime are more humane and could be more cost effective than long-term detention.
What was shown on Four Corners was cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment – if not torture.
The most shocking moments of the true crime documentary Making a Murderer depict two police officers gently coaxing a softly spoken teenager to recount his role in a vicious crime. Warning: spoilers ahead.
Australian discrimination laws offer some protection for employees wanting to disclose their mental illness, but it doesn’t make the decision any easier.
Most developed countries have laws that permit the detention and treatment of individuals with severe mental health problems without their consent. Practices such as restraint and solitary confinement…
People with intellectual disabilities who are found to be “unfit to plead” are still locked away for years on end in Western Australia. Similarly, in the Northern Territory, this detention occurs in prison…
Each Australian state and territory has a Mental Health Act that enables those with severe mental health problems to be detained and treated without their consent. While the criteria differ, generally…
Even a cursory glance at Australia’s mental health system indicates shortcomings in the provision of a range of services to people with mental impairments. Since 1993, when the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity…
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