Last updated 14 April 2016

If the complainant decides to make a formal complaint to police, they will be asked to make a detailed statement about the alleged assault. The statement will later be provided to the defendant as part of the process of prosecution disclosure. If the matter proceeds to trial, the defendant is entitled to cross-examine the complainant about the contents of their statement.

The complainant may have a support person present throughout this process.

It is the complainant’s choice whether to proceed with a formal complaint or not. A complainant may report an alleged sexual offence and then decide that they do not wish to continue with it. While the decision to prosecute any offence (i.e. to proceed to take the matter to court) is always ultimately up to the police and the Crown, it is most unlikely that a complaint would be proceeded with in circumstances where the complainant has indicated they do not wish to take the matter further.