Closing the Justice Gap for Adult and Child Sexual Assault

Anne Cossins is Professor of Law and Criminology in the Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales, Australia. She is the pre-eminent Australian expert on legal reform in the area of sexual assault and a scholar in theoretical criminology. She was the founder and Convenor of the National Child Sexual Assault Reform Committee in Australia and has been, and still is a member of various government committees, boards and councils dealing with sexual assault and domestic violence issues.

• 1. Introduction.- 2. The Nature and Effects Of Adversarialism: Jury Decision Making In Sexual Assault Trials.- 3. Factors That Predict Outcomes in Sexual Assault Trials.- 4. ‘Commonsense’ Or ‘Life Experience’: Jurors’ Perceptions Of Guilt.- 5. ‘No Means Yes And Yes Means Anal’: The Cultural Climate In Which Sex Offences Are Prosecuted.- 6.  The Nature And Effects Of Adversarialism . Sites Of Activation For Heuristic Reasoning Processes.- 7. Modernisation Of The Substantive Law Of Consent.-  8. Cross Examination In Sexual Assault Trials: Evidentiary Safeguard Or An Opportunity To Confuse?.- 9. Contemporary Reforms To Cross-Examination.- 10 . The Problems Facing Reformers Of The Sexual Assault Trial.- 11. Achieving Best Evidence For Vulnerable Witnesses: The Use Of Trauma-Informed Theory To Reform The Sexual Assault Trial.- 12. Reform Measures: The Devil Is In The Detail.