Victim legal representation in sexual assault trials: Moving beyond recommendations for victim-centred reform

This article examines a sustained period of reform activity concerning victim legal representation in sexual offence trials across the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia. Drawing on a comparative analysis of recent reviews and reform initiatives, it identifies a clear convergence around the provision of independent legal advice and representation for complainants, particularly in relation to applications involving sexual history evidence and access to confidential records. While these developments respond to well-documented concerns about privacy and dignity, the article argues that they remain limited in scope. In particular, the consistent refusal to extend representation into the trial itself leaves unaddressed what victims repeatedly identify as the primary source of secondary victimisation: their experience of cross-examination and courtroom participation. Evaluating reform proposals against empirical research on victims’ needs, the article demonstrates that current approaches produce a fragmented and uneven landscape, which can undermine access to justice and contribute to attrition. It advances a more ambitious model that reconceptualises complainants as participants with distinct legal interests and explores how forms of in-trial representation, ranging from supportive presence to limited intervention, might be accommodated within adversarial systems without compromising fair trial rights.