New Zealand's first sexual violence court shown to be quicker, less painful process for victims

A report into the first sexual violence court shows it's been a quicker and less painful process for victims. 

The judge overseeing the court says it has been a clear success, yet Justice Minister Andrew Little says there's no immediate funding commitment to extend the court nationwide. 

The court was established following criticism of the way victims of sexual violence were treated in the justice system. 

Since 2016, 16 judges and three case managers have been given specialist training in managing sex abuse cases.

There has been a more proactive push to set firm trial dates early. A progress report released on Wednesday shows the time to reach trial has been reduced by a third. 

In Auckland, it used to take a year but is now down to eight months. In Whangarei, it used to take 17 months - now it's 10. 

Complainants say the experience is less likely to re-traumatise them, as initiatives are in place to help victims avoid seeing the accused. The process also only requires child witnesses to give evidence early in the day. 

The tighter timeframes have meant more guilty pleas - although some defence lawyers claim it doesn't give them as much time to prepare a case. 

Acting chief District Court Judge John Walker would like to see training nationwide, but for now, the court will only be permanent in Whangarei and Auckland. 

"There's no reason why a complainant or defendant in one location should be treated differently to another, but of course a lot of that is out of my control," says Judge Walker.

The Ministry of Justice would need to commit funding for training. 

"It would be silly not to take the benefit of that and apply it to other parts of the country - how quickly we could roll it out more extensively is hard to say," Justice Minister Andrew Little told Newshub.

"But the process of working to get the resources together to make that happen starts now."

However, Little says a nationwide rollout is unlikely within the next couple of years.

Newshub.