Review of consent laws and the excuse of mistake of fact Consultation Paper WP No 78 December 2019 Queensland Law Reform Commission Review of consent laws and the excuse of mistake of fact Consultation Paper WP No 78 December 2019 Postal address: PO Box 13312, George Street Post Shop, Qld 4003 Telephone: (07) 3564 7777 Facsimile: (07) 3564 7794 Email: [email protected] Website: www.qlrc.qld.gov.au © State of Queensland (Queensland Law Reform Commission) 2019. ISBN: 978-0-6481164-3-1 SUBMISSIONS You are invited to make a written submission on the issues raised in this Consultation Paper. Submissions should be sent to: The Secretary Queensland Law Reform Commission PO Box 13312 George Street Post Shop QLD 4003 Email: [email protected] Facsimile: (07) 3564 7794 Closing date: 31 January 2020 PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY Any personal information you provide in a submission will be collected by the Queensland Law Reform Commission for the purposes of its review of consent laws and the excuse of mistake of fact. Unless you clearly indicate otherwise, the Commission may refer to or quote from your submission and refer to your name in future publications for this review. Further, future publications for this review will be published on the Commission’s website. Please indicate clearly if you do not want your submission, or any part of it, or your name to be referred to in a future publication for the review. Please note that all submissions may be subject to disclosure under the Right to Information Act 2009 (Qld), and access applications for submissions, including those for which confidentiality has been requested, will be determined in accordance with that Act. COMMISSION MEMBERS Chairperson: The Hon Justice David Jackson Part-time members: His Honour Judge Brian Devereaux SC The Hon Margaret Wilson QC Ms Penny White Dr Nigel Stobbs Ms Ruth O’Gorman SECRETARIAT Director: Mr David Groth Assistant Director: Mrs Cathy Green Project Consultants: Mr David Nardone Ms Victoria Trafford-Walker Ms Anita Sweet Secretary: Mrs Jenny Manthey Senior Legal Officers: Ms Anita Galeazzi Mrs Elise Ho Ms Paula Rogers Research Officer: Mr Samuel Harvey Administrative Officers: Ms Kahren Giles Ms Vickie Sefton Abbreviations and Glossary accused or accused person or A person who is charged with a criminal offence and/or being defendant prosecuted in a criminal proceeding ALRC Australian Law Reform Commission ALRC and NSWLRC Joint Australian Law Reform Commission and New South Wales Report on Family Violence Law Reform Commission, Family Violence—A National Legal Response, ALRC Report No 114, NSWLRC Report No 128 (October 2010) balance of probabilities The standard of proof where the finder of fact or jury must be satisfied that ‘it is more probable than not’ of a particular matter Queensland Benchbook Queensland Courts, Supreme and District Courts Criminal Directions Benchbook <https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/court- users/practitioners/benchbooks/supreme-and-district-courts- benchbook> beyond reasonable doubt The standard that the prosecution must reach for a jury to find a defendant guilty of an offence in a criminal proceeding burden or onus of proof The responsibility to prove a particular charge or defence or excuse Criminal Code Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld) criminal responsibility Liability to punishment as for an offence1 element An offence consists of elements. An element of an offence is a matter that the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt if the defendant is to be found to have committed that offence. evidential burden An obligation to raise a particular matter in or on the evidence jury direction An instruction about the law given by the trial judge to a jury to help them to decide whether a person is guilty or not guilty of an offence MCC Model Criminal Code: Chapter 5: Sexual Offences Against the Person, Report (May 1999) MCCOC Model Criminal Code Officers Committee (1999) NSWLRC New South Wales Law Reform Commission NSWLRC draft proposals New South Wales Law Reform Commission, Consent in relation to sexual offences—Draft proposals (October 2019) 1 Criminal Code (Qld) s 1. ii Review of consent laws and the excuse of mistake of fact standard of proof The level a party must reach to prove a particular charge or factor, that is, beyond reasonable doubt or on the balance of probabilities Taskforce Discussion Paper Queensland Taskforce on Women and the Criminal Code, Discussion Paper of the Taskforce on Women and the Criminal Code (September 1999) Taskforce Report Queensland Taskforce on Women and the Criminal Code, Report of the Taskforce on Women and the Criminal Code (2000) VLRC Victorian Law Reform Commission Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY ............................................................................ i CONSULTATION QUESTIONS ................................................................................... V CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 THE TERMS OF REFERENCE .................................................................................................... 1 THE CONSULTATION PAPER ..................................................................................................... 2 MAKING A SUBMISSION ............................................................................................................. 2 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................. 3 BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW ............................................................................... 3 THE CURRENT LAW .................................................................................................................... 3 The offences in Chapter 32 ................................................................................................... 3 Consent ................................................................................................................................. 6 The excuse of mistake of fact ............................................................................................... 7 Criminal law practice and procedure ..................................................................................... 7 Jury directions ....................................................................................................................... 9 THE CONCEPT OF CONSENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEXUAL OFFENCES ............... 10 Criminal responsibility where there is a lack of consent ..................................................... 12 REFORMS IN QUEENSLAND .................................................................................................... 12 REFORMS IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS ................................................................................... 14 CONCERNS RAISED ................................................................................................................. 15 THIS REVIEW ............................................................................................................................. 16 QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................... 19 THE DEFINITION OF CONSENT ............................................................................... 19 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 19 DEFINITION OF CONSENT ....................................................................................................... 19 Queensland ......................................................................................................................... 19 AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT MODEL ............................................................................................ 21 Other jurisdictions ............................................................................................................... 22 Queensland ......................................................................................................................... 24 Questions ............................................................................................................................ 25 WITHDRAWAL OF CONSENT ................................................................................................... 25 Question .............................................................................................................................. 27 CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN CONSENT IS NOT FREE AND VOLUNTARY ............................... 27 Question .............................................................................................................................. 31 Specific circumstances ........................................................................................................ 31 Questions ............................................................................................................................ 36 Other circumstances ........................................................................................................... 37 Questions ...........................................................................................................................