Research + Projects

Interview Study: Exploring justice system experiences of complainants in sexual offence matters

Commissioned by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, this project aims to address a critical gap in understanding experiences of complainants of sexual offences in the NSW criminal justice system.

The CIJ is working in partnership with KPMG to conduct research into the experiences of complainants of sexual offences in the NSW criminal justice system – a project which has been commissioned by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR). With the most recent research examining sexual assault complainants’ experiences in NSW undertaken over 25 years ago, this research aims to address a critical gap in understanding victim-survivors’ contemporary, end-to-end experiences of the criminal justice process.

To conduct this research, the project team travelled around NSW, conducting in-person and online interviews with over 30 complainants in adult sexual offence matters. The project team also met with members of the Aboriginal community in specific areas of regional NSW about their community’s participation to ensure that research projects involving Aboriginal peoples are community-led and have direct benefits for the people and communities involved.

Project team: Elena Campbell, Riley Ellard, Eliza Hew, Samara Young, Catherine Caruana, Kat Ogilvie

This project has now concluded. You can read our report here.