AUSTRALIA
ABC News
By Sarah Farnsworth
Updated 3 Oct 2014
A recent Victorian Court of Appeal ruling has sparked concerns a clamp down on the way child abuse cases are handled could thwart convictions.
In June, three Court of Appeal justices ruled only cases that are “remarkably” similar would go before the same jury, making it harder for groups of victims to band together.
For cases to be heard together, the court needs to allow what is known as tendency evidence – which is used to prove a person’s tendency to act in a certain way.
In the case of sexual abuse, it can be used to establish predatory behaviour.
It was used successfully in the Sydney trial of Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes and in the UK trial of Australian entertainer Rolf Harris.
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