New South Wales has established a dedicated legal service to support sexual assault survivors navigating the criminal justice system, addressing a gap that victim-advocates say leaves many feeling isolated and re-traumatised during prosecution.
The Sexual Assault Survivors' Legal Service, operating through Legal Aid NSW, launched as part of a broader $5 million package announced by the state government to strengthen responses to sexual violence. The expansion includes specialist sexual violence justice system navigators across up to five community locations and up to four co-location sites with police and domestic violence court advocacy services, alongside expanded Legal Aid capacity and restorative-justice research funding.
Shannon Stokes' experience illustrates the challenges the service aims to address. The 28-year-old spent two years and 11 days prosecuting her former boyfriend for sexual assault and domestic violence, securing nine convictions out of 11 charges that resulted in a five-year prison sentence. Throughout the ordeal, she described feeling a persistent "sense of doom" and profound isolation within a system that felt fundamentally alien to her.
What support did survivors receive before?
Stokes received minimal guidance as she prepared for trial. The materials provided focused narrowly on courtroom appearance rather than substantive legal rights or process navigation. On the day she entered the courtroom, she was handed only a few pages of information to guide her through proceedings that would determine her role as a witness in her own case.
"I also had a few pieces of paper handed to me on the day going into that courtroom, and that was what I had to kind of go off … it just makes you feel so isolated and like a number in the system rather than a person who has actually been victimised by violence."
Her experience reflects a systemic problem. Sarah Rosenberg, executive director of the victim-led network With You We Can and a justice reform advocate, has documented how survivors are forced to navigate an adversarial legal system with minimal support.
"They're expected to navigate a very isolating, very complex system entirely alone. They'd essentially have to become legal experts overnight just to figure out what is going on in a case that supposedly revolves around them."
Rosenberg emphasises that the adversarial structure itself compounds trauma. When survivors are reduced to witnesses rather than central figures in accountability processes, they experience dynamics that mirror the abuse itself.
"That process of having the victim-survivor be a witness opens them up to a lot of re-traumatising during the process … There is nothing that mimics the dynamics of abuse more than being relegated to just a witness in the accountability process."
What does the new service provide?
The Sexual Assault Survivors' Legal Service offers free legal support across multiple dimensions of the justice process. Survivors can access advice about criminal proceedings, understand their rights during police investigations and prosecutions, and receive assistance navigating victims' compensation claims.
Robyn Gilbert, senior solicitor at Legal Aid NSW leading the service, describes its core purpose as restoring agency to survivors.
"The point of the service is to bring some autonomy and choice back to survivors, to be better informed and have a clearer idea of their own rights and their role in the system."
The service operates with minimal eligibility barriers.
"Really, the only eligibility criteria is to have experienced a sexual assault,"Gilbert said. Survivors across NSW can access support through referral form, email at sasls@legalaid.nsw.gov.au, or by phone on 02 9219 5888, with interpreter access available through TIS.
The service builds on Legal Aid NSW's existing Sexual Assault Communications Privilege Service, which protects counselling notes and therapeutic records in sexual offence proceedings.
How is the broader package structured?
The $5 million expansion allocates funding across multiple support mechanisms. $1.55 million supports community navigators, $1.35 million funds co-located navigators at police and domestic violence court advocacy service sites, $1.7 million expands Legal Aid NSW capacity, $220,000 supports workforce development, and $180,000 funds restorative-justice research.
The community-based navigator component operates as a two-year pilot from June 2026, with evaluation and continuation decisions to follow. These navigators will be embedded in community organisations to provide holistic support beyond legal advice alone.
NSW Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison framed the initiative as essential to ensuring dignity throughout the justice process.
"Accessing the right support at the right time is an important part of ensuring they are treated with dignity and respect throughout the justice process."
Federal Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Ged Kearney acknowledged the trauma survivors face when seeking legal assistance.
"I have heard from many victim-survivors of sexual violence that their experience seeking legal advice after an assault can be traumatic during what's already a very traumatic period."
What challenges did Stokes face during her trial?
Beyond the initial lack of guidance, Stokes encountered repeated obstacles that compounded her trauma. Questions were dismissed or asked multiple times, forcing her to relive details unnecessarily. She was required to submit evidence for victims' compensation more than once, multiplying the administrative burden on someone already managing the psychological weight of prosecution.
The extended timeline—two years and 11 days from assault to conviction—created its own psychological toll. Stokes reflects on how the prolonged legal process affected her mental health more severely than the original assault itself.
"Having such a big time pass between my assault and going to court definitely affected me more mentally … I say it light-heartedly, but I think it actually traumatised me more than my actual assault did."
She views the new service as a meaningful step toward reducing that trauma for future survivors navigating what she describes as "a really hard legal system."
What is the broader policy context?
The NSW expansion reflects growing recognition that specialised, trauma-informed legal services are essential to supporting sexual violence survivors. The Commonwealth has positioned the NSW pilot as part of a wider push for such services in NSW and Queensland, signalling national commitment to reform.
This approach contrasts with traditional legal aid models that treat sexual assault cases as routine matters. By embedding navigators in community settings and expanding specialist legal capacity, the package acknowledges that survivors require support that extends beyond conventional legal representation.
Key Facts
- The Sexual Assault Survivors' Legal Service provides free legal support to all survivors of sexual assault across NSW, with no eligibility criteria beyond having experienced assault
- The broader $5 million package includes community-based navigators, co-located support at police and court advocacy sites, expanded Legal Aid capacity, and restorative-justice research
- Community navigators will operate for two years from June 2026, with evaluation determining continuation beyond the pilot period
- Survivors can contact the service by referral form, email, or phone, with interpreter access available
- The initiative builds on existing specialist services protecting therapeutic records in sexual assault proceedings
