Victim’s Medical Records Leaked in Court Highlight Systemic Failures for Sexual Assault Survivors
A Brisbane survivor of an alleged rape learned that over 500 pages of her medical and counselling records were supplied to the defence, revealing gaps in Queensland’s protection of victim-survivor privacy.
Serene, a 29-year-old consultant from Brisbane, filed a rape complaint against a massage therapist and endured a four-year legal battle that ended with a not-guilty verdict. Weeks before the trial, she was told that defence lawyers had received more than 500 pages of her medical and counselling records, including psychiatric notes, after a clinic improperly complied with a subpoena. Prosecutors failed to block the disclosure, and Queensland law requires permission before health records can be subpoenaed.
Experts such as criminologist Silke Meyer note that many victim-survivors are unaware their records can be accessed, while justice-reform advocate Sarah Rosenberg reports a similar experience and now runs the With You We Can hub. Both women call for independent legal representation and victim-advocates embedded in the system to safeguard privacy and improve outcomes. Support services like the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service and the Men’s Referral Service are listed for survivors.
Why it matters
It shows how court processes can expose sensitive health data, deterring sexual assault victims from seeking justice.
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