The role of cultural factors in the sentencing of Indigenous sex offenders in the Northern Territory. This is a study of the impact of extra-legal factors about sexuality and Indigenous culture on the sentencing of Indigenous sex offenders in the Northern Territory. It will provide an empirical basis for future policy, legal practice and law reform relating to sentencing in sexual assault cases in the Northern Territory, with broader application to other Australian jurisdictions.
Intoxication Evidence in Rape Trials: A Double-Edged Sword? There is strong evidence that intoxication by alcohol and other drugs is frequently associated with sexual violence. Criminal law reforms in Australia have attempted to break the ‘rape myth’ nexus between intoxication and assumed consent. This project will subject the operation of relevant rules to systematic analysis. Focusing on intoxication evidence in rape trials, this project will undertake qualitative analysis of appellate judgmen ....Intoxication Evidence in Rape Trials: A Double-Edged Sword? There is strong evidence that intoxication by alcohol and other drugs is frequently associated with sexual violence. Criminal law reforms in Australia have attempted to break the ‘rape myth’ nexus between intoxication and assumed consent. This project will subject the operation of relevant rules to systematic analysis. Focusing on intoxication evidence in rape trials, this project will undertake qualitative analysis of appellate judgments, court transcripts and interviews with prosecutors and defence lawyers, in three Australian jurisdictions. It should produce significant new knowledge about whether existing laws and court room practices are optimally adapted to achieving the important objective of justice for sexual violence victims.
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Criminalisation of poverty and homelessness in Australia: A national study. The project aims to assess the policing and enforcement of public order crimes and related offences (e.g. obstruct/disobey police, breach of bail, and minor property offences) on individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. The project endeavours to collect and analyse qualitative data from across Australia on the lived experience of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, regarding the impact of crimin ....Criminalisation of poverty and homelessness in Australia: A national study. The project aims to assess the policing and enforcement of public order crimes and related offences (e.g. obstruct/disobey police, breach of bail, and minor property offences) on individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. The project endeavours to collect and analyse qualitative data from across Australia on the lived experience of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, regarding the impact of criminal laws and police powers concerned with presence in, and movement around public places. It will particularly focus on the impact on women, children and Indigenous peoples. The outcomes will seek to reduce the criminalisation of homeless people, by identifying law and policy reform options, and comparing their cost with that of 'business as usual'.Read moreRead less
Open justice and open secrets: the cultural afterlife of criminal evidence. This project explores the consequences of using criminal evidence in the cultural field, after the conclusion of the trial. It investigates whether an appropriate regulatory or ethical framework can be developed in response to challenging or controversial re-deployments of this material by artists, curators, journalists, scholars and others.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100577
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$321,983.00
Summary
Rethinking institutional culpability: criminal law, philosophy and horror. This project aims to reconceptualise institutional culpability, examining what systemic failure occurs when public enquiries that detail harms inflicted rarely result in criminal prosecutions or sanctions. It addresses the pressing need to provide practical insight into legislative responses (or the lack thereof) to corporate harms. This project is expected to have national and international benefits in terms of both prac ....Rethinking institutional culpability: criminal law, philosophy and horror. This project aims to reconceptualise institutional culpability, examining what systemic failure occurs when public enquiries that detail harms inflicted rarely result in criminal prosecutions or sanctions. It addresses the pressing need to provide practical insight into legislative responses (or the lack thereof) to corporate harms. This project is expected to have national and international benefits in terms of both practical law reform and theoretical constructions of culpability.Read moreRead less
Countering misconceptions in child sexual assault cases with expert evidence and judicial directions. This project reduces miscarriages of justice by identifying topics about which jurors benefit from specialised knowledge by an expert witnesses and the best way to deliver that information so they are better equipped to appropriately assess the credibility of child victims and offenders and render verdicts in cases of child sexual assault.
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL220100088
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,472,660.00
Summary
A First Nations Sovereign Approach to Decolonising Colonial Institutions. This Laureate Fellowship aims to fundamentally re-make Australia’s colonial legal institutions in order to remove the harm they currently do to Indigenous people and communities. It is well known that colonial legal institutions such as the criminal justice system, coronial processes and child protection systems continue to have significant negative impacts on First Nations Australians in the twenty-first century. Research ....A First Nations Sovereign Approach to Decolonising Colonial Institutions. This Laureate Fellowship aims to fundamentally re-make Australia’s colonial legal institutions in order to remove the harm they currently do to Indigenous people and communities. It is well known that colonial legal institutions such as the criminal justice system, coronial processes and child protection systems continue to have significant negative impacts on First Nations Australians in the twenty-first century. Researchers have not yet been able to answer the question of how we can best decolonise colonial legal systems. This project hypothesises that we can drive positive change by theorising and developing a coherent strengths-based self-determination model that is applicable across legal and regulatory sectors.Read moreRead less
A comparative analysis of youth punishment in Australia and the United Kingdom. This project is a comparative Australian and United Kingdom investigation of penal policy and the punishment of juvenile offenders. The research analyses the changing approaches to juvenile incarceration, particularly in the context of perceived effects on crime and the substantial public and social costs of incarceration.