Stealthing to be treated as rape in Qld

Removing a condom without consent, or stealthing, will be treated as rape as part of the Queensland government's overhaul of sexual violence legislation. 

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman made the commitment as part of the government's response to the second and final Hear her Voice report, tabled in parliament on Thursday.

The report by the Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce calls for urgent reform among 188 recommendations which have all been supported or supported in principle by the state government.

Key changes include a legislative overhaul adopting an affirmative consent model and criminalising "stealthing" in a major reform of the state's sexual violence laws.

Stealthing involves the removal of a condom without consent.

"We will progress amendments to recognise stealthing as rape and reform the laws of evidence and procedure as they apply to sexual offences," Ms Fentiman said. 

"Stealthing fundamentally violates the consent given for a sexual act. It is rape and it should be recognised as such." 

The government will also invest $225 million over five years to implement the report's recommendations and improve women's and girls' experience of the criminal justice system.

The overhaul will strengthen the justice system by putting victims at the centre of reform, Ms Fentiman said.

"This brings our government's total investment to eliminate domestic family and sexual violence to over $1.3 billion," she said.

Key initiatives include court IT upgrades to make it easier for victims to give video evidence, and piloting a victim's advocate service to develop the most appropriate statewide model, Ms Fentiman said.

Headed by former Court of Appeal president Margaret McMurdo, the task force received more than 300 submissions including over 250 from victim-survivors of sexual assault and 19 from offenders.

The task force considered possible areas of reform across prevention and community awareness, reporting, response by state services, support for victims as they navigate the justice system, and legislative amendments.

It also examined the impacts of resourcing to address sexual violence, the over-representation of First Nations women in the justice system, community attitudes to consent laws and the general barriers faced by women when reporting crimes through to their experiences in the courts.