Civil actions
Home: Survivors: Legal Information: Taking legal action
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In all States and Territories, a victim/survivor of sexual assault may have a range of options to pursue under what is called civil action.
Areas of law
Areas of law considered to be civil include crimes compensation, equal opportunity or sex discrimination actions, or perhaps suing the offender or some third party who may have been involved in the assault in a common law action for, say, trespass to the person or negligence.
The most significant aspect of any civil action is that it generally carries the burden of proof, which means that the court must be satisfied that the sexual assault occurred on the balance of probabilities, as compared to the criminal burden in trials, where the finding must be made on the criminal burden of proof which is beyond reasonable doubt. The institution of civil action for 'damages' meaning monetary compensation and/or for 'damage' meaning injuries suffered as a result of a sexual assault may lead to compensation for pain and suffering , loss of enjoyment of life, and other relevant losses associated with the assault.
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Disclaimer
Copyright Updated: 25 Sep 2009
The South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault acknowledges the traditional Aboriginal owners of country throughout Victoria. We pay our respects to them, their culture and their Elders past, present and future.