'Just not good enough': report lashes Victoria's handling of crime victims

The Ballarat-born survivor of sexual abuse and family violence barricaded herself in an upstairs room and called the police, fully expecting them to come and take away her abuser.

What resulted however was a brief and disappointing conversation, the first of many disappointing experiences in her journey to seek justice.

Her experience is not uncommon, as testified by a new report from the Victims of Crime Commissioner which has scathed the way the justice system handles those who come forward with allegations of abuse.

"I was a person who was brought up to respect authority. Was told if things happen to you in your life, you report that to the police," she said.

"At key points where I was going through really life threatening awful abuse and violence I did reach out on multiple occasions to get protection and support from the places you are told to go to and I didn't get that."

Ms Oddie moved from her childhood home near Ballarat to Melbourne to pursue a university education.

Soon after moving to Melbourne however Ms Oddie found herself isolated, and in an increasingly violent and abusive relationship which lasted for three-and-a-half years and saw a decade of stalking afterwards.

Being threatened with a gun was only one of many horrific crimes inflicted on Ms Oddie in the early 2000s.

She said following the incident she was raped by a police officer assigned to investigate the family violence she suffered through.

She was also raped in Melbourne's CBD by a stranger, during a brief period of homelessness fleeing family violence.

"Like everyone, I have joined a club that no one wants to join, which is becoming a victim of crime," she said.

"Unfortunately I have experienced multiple perpetrators in my adult life."

As such, Ms Oddie has been no stranger to making statements to police, and trying to seek justice through Victoria's often difficult court system.

"I am someone who is quite educated, from a position of white privilege. If I found it so hard to get support or any real sense of justice, how much harder is it for people who have got any other form of barriers or marginalisation factors," she said.

"It is something that has really driven a lot of my activism and advocacy in this space. It is just not good enough."

Issues facing victims of crime seeking justice were laid bare in a new report from the Victims of Crimes Commissioner, titled Silenced and Sidelined.

The report makes 55 recommendations on how the criminal justice system can better work with victims of crime, and highlights what it said is a "gap between victims' legal entitlements and their lived experiences".

Among its findings are statistics which reveal the strain many victims are put under when they come forward.

More than half, 52 per cent, of victims surveyed in the report said they would either not or were unsure if they would report a crime again after having experienced Victoria's criminal justice system.

A further 36 per cent of victims who had acted as witnesses said they would not want to give evidence again.

The figures were unsurprising for Ms Oddie, who has since worked tirelessly as an advocate for victims of crime - including giving evidence to the 2015 Royal Commission into Family Violence.

Her testimony led to two crucial findings from the royal commission, 104 and 106, which recommended a complete overhaul of Victoria's Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal.

Other retraumatising experiences Ms Oddie has had with the justice system include a time when she had to cross-examine her abuser in court without legal representation at an intervention order hearing.

Her path of advocacy began in 2007, after becoming a Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre survivor-advocate.

In 2020, she was appointed to the Victims of Crime Consultative Committee, which makes recommendations under the auspices of the Department of Justice on how to improve victim experience with the justice system.

Victims of Crime Commissioner Fiona McCormack said shortfalls in the justice system were harming victims who needed stronger protections.

"There were some very distressing stories like a parent finding themselves sitting beside their son's alleged killer in a court foyer because there were no separate spaces for victims and their families," Ms McCormack said.

"Pursuing protection or justice is often not even an option for many victims, especially those who've had negative experiences in the past, don't trust the system or face barriers like language and disability."

Despite being considered participants of a case as it heads through the courts, Ms McCormack said too often victims felt they were a secondary consideration as a case progressed.

"It is imperative victims are not traumatised by the justice process - for their own well-being and because society depends on them to play a role in community safety by reporting crime and providing evidence against the accused," Ms McCormack said.

"An urgent priority is providing victims with stronger rights that are proactively upheld and establishing a free, independent legal service for all victims who suddenly have to navigate a complex justice system."

Affected by this story?

There is help available. You can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292.

Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Victims of Crime helpline on 1800 819 817 or text 0427 767 891.