ABSTRACT
This chapter explores victim/survivor's experiences of the Australian legal system's response to sexual assault. It provides a detailed overview of the most challenging aspects of the legal personnel and processes that constitute the judicial system as identified by victims/survivors, researchers and practitioners. The chapter presents an overview of the main problems concerning responses of the legal system to victims/survivors of sexual assault. Overwhelmingly, the legal response to sexual assault appears to privilege and protect the accused at the expense of a fair trial to the victims/survivors. It explores how counsellors/advocates working in the field of sexual assault think about the possibilities for changing legal practices, it has been necessary to explore the factors that are most in need of change. Systemic problems within society appear to exacerbate victims/survivor's negative experiences with the legal system, especially if she a child or young person, has a disability, is from a minority cultural or linguistic background, or impacted by other structural disadvantages.
