Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath has admonished north Queensland MP Robbie Katter for asking a question about “males increasingly falling victim to perjury and vexatious reporting”.
In a question on notice,Katter asked D’Ath whether she would “provide protection for Queensland males,and implement penalties for women who commit perjury or report vexatiously”.
D’Ath responded by saying “it is questions like this that discourage victims in coming forward”.
“These are the facts:in 2022,86 per cent of sexual assault victims in Queensland were female;in 2021-22,four in five people using domestic and family violence were male,” D’Ath said,in an answer tabled in parliament on Thursday.
D’Ath said while a national survey found a third of people believed sexual assault allegations were used as a way of “getting back at men,” studies had found the rate of allegations later proven false was about 5 per cent.
“Myths about false allegations are harmful for society and harmful for victims of sexual
offences. It contributes to under-reporting and victims wrongly fear they will be met with
disbelief and blame if they report.”
D’Ath said there were existing offences for perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice that were “not gender specific”.