Victims of sexual violence will soon be given the power to decide whether their abuser’s name is suppressed, following a law change passed in Parliament today.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the legislation would return victims to the centre of the justice system, with new measures focused on reducing trauma and delivering real consequences for offenders.

“This Bill will ensure the courts cannot issue a permanent name suppression order for an adult convicted of a sexual offence, unless the victim agrees to it,” Goldsmith said.

“Currently victims’ views only have to be taken into account by the courts. Long battles over name suppression retraumatise victims, as does the inability to discuss what happened to them and to warn others.”

Goldsmith said the Government recognised that some victims would not want to make that decision, or may not be able to. In those cases, judges would continue to make the decision about suppression.

The new legislation will also provide automatic name suppression to all victims of sexual offences, including those involving intimate visual recordings. Goldsmith said this would close a gap in the law where some victims were automatically protected, while others were not.

The Bill also changes the law so children under the age of 12 cannot be questioned about whether they consented to sexual activity.

“This makes it crystal clear that children cannot consent to abuse,” Goldsmith said.

He said the new rules were part of the Government’s wider plan to restore law and order and reduce violent crime by 20,000 incidents by 2029.