For years, survivors of some of the worst crimes imaginable have been put through hell. Their perpetrators allowed to use glowing character references in court, in an effort to have their sentences reduced.

But today, that’s set to change as New South Wales introduces new laws scrapping character references for all criminal sentencing - in response to years of campaigning from sexual abuse survivors.

Today, ‘Your Reference Ain’t Relevant’ Cofounder Harrison James on what these changes mean and how the rest of the country is lagging behind on character reference reform.

 

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Guest: Cofounder of ‘Your Reference Ain’t Relevant’, Harrison James

Photo: AAP Image/Sarah Wilson

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