"Gag laws" that would ban families of murdered rape victims from speaking out, and naming their loved ones, will be debated in Victorian Parliament this week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A group behind the #letusspeak campaign has been arguing against the proposal to force people to get a court order before victims can be named in public.
In her speech to Parliament this month, Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said "further, more substantial reforms are required in this area", but proposed banning the publication of names without a court order until laws are reassessed in 2021.
The law would prevent media and families from naming victims like 11-year-old Wangaratta girl Zoe Buttigieg, who was indecently assaulted and murdered in her home in 2015.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Zoe's death and others in the North East sparked the "Enough is Enough" campaign led by Wangaratta's Tania Maxwell, and put her on the path to being elected as an MP for Derryn Hinch's Justice Party.
She told The Border Mail she was examining the bill, with the best interests of victims as the priority.
"We are still receiving briefings from the government, and speaking to victims and legal teams," she said.
"The bill is complex and it appears to have the interest of those who do not want media reports about a victim becoming available to the public."