Good character references to be banned in SA courts
South Australia is moving to ban good character references from sentencing following a campaign from sex crime survivors.
South Australia is seeking to ban the use of good character references in sentencing as part of a nationwide campaign to dump their use in courts.
Attorney-General Kyam Maher today announced the move as part of the Your Reference Ain’t Relevant Campaign founded by survivor advocates Harrison James and Jarad Grice.
James was allegedly abused by his stepmother when he was 13, while Grice was abused by a neighbour as a young child; the pair now advocate for the abolition of good character references across Australia to improve the justice system experiences of victim-survivors.
Although the reforms would overturn the use of good character references for all crimes, it would specifically aim to stop their use by sex offenders who abuse children.
“Child sex offences are some of the most horrific crimes and have profound and lasting impacts on the victim survivors,” Maher said.
“Victim survivors of child sex abuse should not have to be re-traumatised during the court process while hearing friends and family of the offender describe them as a ‘good person’ to try and minimise their sentence.”
According to the state government, good character references can be used in cases if the offender’s supposed “good character” did not help them in offending or if they had a lack of prior convictions.
However, that would all change under the new reforms, with Maher saying the change would bring SA in line with other states around Australia.
“If you have been found guilty of an offence, your sentence should not be minimised because you have managed to deceive some people into believing you are a person of ‘good character’,” he said.
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James, of New South Wales, said he used his lived experience to launch the campaign four years ago.
“There is nothing more dehumanising than hearing the person who harmed you described in court as a ‘good person’. A survivor’s pain should never be diminished by an offender’s public reputation,” he said.
“An offender should not be able to weaponise their reputation to minimise the consequences of their violent offending.”
James said the Your Reference Ain’t Relevant campaign had successfully brought the reform to six jurisdictions in a year, including New South Wales and Western Australia.
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