By Kyra Gillespie
Students at Westbourne Grammar School are refusing to let their age limit their ability to make a difference.
Tasha Gacutan, Kane Arnold, Giselle Puno, Eleni Moritz, Shams Albrefkany, and Gianluca Vavala are one team among 20 participating in this year’s YMCA Victoria Youth Parliament.
At just 16 and 17 years old, these passionate young people will take to state Parliament chambers on Thursday, July 5 to debate their bill titled Rape Trial Reform.
“When we found out that only three per cent of [rape] perpetrators are convicted in Victoria we knew this was the issue we wanted to tackle,” Tasha said.
“We want to mend a flawed system to lay the foundation for a future where victims can feel like they can report and actually get justice.
“This is a very emotional topic, so we have to be very strong and know our stuff.”
The Victoria Youth Parliament involves young people aged between 16 and 25 designing a piece of legislation, or bill, on an issue they are passionate about which is tabled and debated before a youth parliament.
More than 25 Youth Parliament Bills have been adopted into state legislation since the program began just over 30 years ago.
The Westbourne team’s bill will focus on minimising the emotional harm suffered by victims of rape during court proceedings and boosting the number of convictions in Victoria.
This is proposed to be achieved by implementing a number of reforms, including state-funded counselling services for victims, overhauling unreasonable cross-examination tactics and giving victims the choice to appear in court to give evidence or use pre-recording options.
“Victorian victims of rape are in desperate need for improved courtroom conditions,” Shams said.
“The trial process continues to be a stressful situation for many victims and can often lead to re-traumatisation.
“We believe that by reducing a victims’ exposure to the criminal justice process itself, we can help minimise the risk of damage to them.”
The Westbourne group said the amount of research involved for their bill made them even more determined to tackle the sensitive topic.
“It made us realise that if it’s that hard for us to find the right information then it must be a million times harder for the victims who have to go through it,” Kane said.
Kyra Gillespie is a member of the YMCA Youth Press Gallery.
