A list of 23 prominent NSW lawyers have signed an open letter in support of reforms that will require people accused of sexual assault to prove they took steps to obtain consent.
The reforms, announced by NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman, will adopt an "affirmative consent" model, which means a person does not consent to sexual activity until they say or do something to communicate it.
The open letter was written in response to the NSW Bar Association, which had previously labelled the reforms as "ill-considered".
"The reality is that barristers, like any other members of the community, are likely to have a range of views on a controversial topic like this," the open letter reads.
"Recent years have confirmed that the current balance struck by sexual assault laws is not satisfactory.
"Something needs to be done. While the rights of the accused should not be lost, the interests of victims need better protection."
It is signed by prominent lawyers such as Justin Gleeson, a former Commonwealth Solicitor-General, and Gail Furness, who was legal counsel to the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse.
Mr Speakman referred a review of the state's consent laws to the NSW Law Reform Commission in 2018 after Saxon Mullins spoke of her sexual assault case in 2017 on the ABC's Four Corners program.
She has been fighting for consent laws to reflect affirmative consent since then.
Ms Mullins has said the reforms are "an important step into changing the way that we talk about sexual violence and hopefully one small step towards ending it".
“I think affirmative consent really falls in line with how we should be engaging in sexual activity just on a day-to- day basis," she told SBS News previously.
“It’s about constant communication between consenting parties who are having that ongoing conversation of reassured consent. Making sure it’s legislated in the right way is really just making sure that we are legislating the way we should be speaking to each other anyway in these encounters."
The commission handed the government a 270-page report last September, detailing that the law should be changed to specify that a person has not agreed to sex without saying or doing anything to communicate that consent.
Saxon Mullins is a long-time campaigner for affirmative consent laws. Source: Sam Ruttyn
"We like many barristers, believe the Attorney's reforms are sound in principle," the oepn letter reads.
"We urge all interest groups to work with the NSW government to fine tune the points of detail of the Attorney-General's proposal rather than resist a change that is likely ultimately to bring about better outcomes for the community as a whole."
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, you can call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit .
