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The courageous decision by Anastasia Treharne to describe her harrowing experiences seeking justice for two separate sexual assaults she endured has exposed the shortcomings of a system stubbornly resistant to change.
Treharne told our reporter Clare Sibthorpe she was made to feel more like a witness than a victim.
Last Wednesday, Justin Downs was due to be sentenced at the Downing Centre District Court for raping Treharne after they met on a dating app in 2022. However, the judge adjourned the sentencing for two weeks to consider more submissions on the appropriate sentence.
Downs, a convicted domestic-violence and drink-driving offender who has previously breached court orders, is seeking a community corrections order.
The court delay is one of many the 23-year-old Treharne has experienced since her best friend’s father was convicted of sexually assaulting her seven years ago.
During a sleepover at her best friend’s father’s apartment, the then-16-year-old woke to find an intoxicated Michael Robinson standing over her. He sexually assaulted her several times and in 2020, Robinson was sentenced to five years’ prison.
Her victim impact statement described the devastating impact, including crippling panic attacks, nightmares and eating struggles. Her grades suffered and friends grew distant, affecting the studies she could pursue.
This second time around, she faced continuous delays, often with very little or no notice. Each time, Treharne and her loved ones suffered financially and emotionally and her trauma was compounded.
Treharne is the latest sexual assault or domestic violence victim to detail their experience to the Herald, as advocates highlight the urgent need to integrate siloed support systems, address ongoing dangers to victims and ensure recent legislative changes actually work.
Karen Bevan, chief executive of advocacy group Full Stop Australia, said victims too often described feeling like a witness to one’s own assault and having their experiences minimised. “Our legal systems aren’t fit for purpose and really don’t take into account that the person who’s been subject to sexual assault has a place in the system,” she said.
Bevan and other advocates pushing to reform the way sexual assaults are treated believe the legal system is hampered by the weight of centuries-old processes based on treating women as property rather than independent legal actors.
Governments have not ignored the scourge of sexual violence and introduced legislative reforms and extra funding.
In March, the federal and NSW governments announced a $5 million package to strengthen sexual assault justice responses, including $1.55 million for a pilot of Sexual Violence Community Justice System Navigators. Full Stop Australia called for these navigators in its 2025-26 pre-budget submission. Tuesday’s NSW state budget included $19 million to fund men’s behaviour change programs under a significant domestic violence package, but failed to address the largest growing and most underreported crime in NSW, sexual assault.
Yet the low conviction rate among reported sexual assaults is a constant, with only one in three cases resulting in guilty verdicts. Anastasia Treharne’s experience is a reminder of how traumatic the NSW court system is for sexual assault victims.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). Anyone impacted by sexual, domestic, or family violence can also access 24/7, free and confidential trauma-specialist counselling through Full Stop Australia (1800 385 578).
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