The Australian government announced on Thursday that it will introduce a new bill to help strengthen witness protection when dealing with sexual abuse cases.

The bill would see greater protection provided to both survivors of sexual abuse and witnesses by increasing the powers of Australia’s witnesses protection program. It will also expand the list of people who will qualify for witness protection in sexual violence cases. This bill will look to implement some of the changes outlined in the recent inquiry into sexual abuse cases and survivors that was completed in 2017. Additionally, it looks to set the groundwork for the government policy surrounding the reduction of sexual assault and abuse cases over the coming decade.

In a speech to the House of Commons, MP Mark Dreyfus stated that these changes were intended to support victims of sexual violence and provide a platform that allows them to not be afraid of speaking out about the abuse they have endured. The bill also looks to increase the support victims have when they are both dealing with the recollection of the abuse in a trial as well as after any instance of sexual violence taking place. The hope is that when survivors and witnesses feel more comfortable speaking out about this abuse there will be an increase in the number of convictions due to the evidence provided by the witnesses and a lower level of retraumatization in victims.