New information for victims of gender-based violence
Steps to Justice has new information on crimes involving gender-based violence and private prosecutions. A crime involving gender-based violence is a crime committed against someone because of their gender.
This includes:
- violent offences, such as assault and sexual assault, and
- offences that involve controlling or manipulative behaviour, such as criminal harassment.
A private prosecution is a process where someone asks the court to lay criminal charges against a person they believe committed a crime. Private prosecution may be an option for some victims of gender-based violence. They might do this if the police decide not to investigate an incident, or do investigate but decide not to lay charges.