Consent and mistaken belief in consent in Tasmanian sexual offences trials

This report is the second in a series of reports monitoring the operation of the 1987 reforms to the Criminal Code 1924 (Tas) and the Evidence Act 1910 (Tas). The purpose of the present study was to examine, in the context of sexual offences trials, the operation of the reforms to the definition of 'consent' in the Tasmanian Criminal Code 1924. It also examined the operation of the defence of mistaken belief in consent in these trials. The background to the reform and the defence of mistaken belief in consent under s 14 of the Code is discussed in Chapter One; the research methodology and basic quantitative findings with respect to the sexual offences tried and the lines of defence encountered are dealt with in Chapter Two; Chapter Three discusses the research findings with regard to the Crown construction of consent and key themes used by the defence to refute the Crown allegations of non-consent, to construct sexual contact as consensual and to lay a foundation for the defence of mistaken belief in consent. Chapter Four discusses findings concerning trial judges' summations and Chapter Five presents the study's conclusions and recommendations.