A new pilot aiming to speed up sexual violence court cases should help reduce trauma for victims during the court process, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

Chief District Court Judge Jan-Marie Doogue announced on Thursday that two dedicated sexual violence courts will be trialled in Whangarei and Auckland from December 1.

The initiative will see the two District Courts and their satellite courts deal with sexual violence cases at a regular time and place, instead of within the daily mix of other kinds of cases. It also aims to enhance pre-trial case management and judicial education about best-practice.

Chief Judge Jan-Marie Doogue says District Court judges have been listening closely to concerns about the court process for people involved in sexual violence cases.

'Timeliness is clearly an issue. Research tells us that lengthy proceedings may delay recovery when people have to keep fresh in their minds over a long period past distressing experiences. The pilot will test steps to improve that.”

The Justice Sector Fund, which supports the Government's priorities of reducing crime and reoffending, provided $130,000 over two years to support the implementation and evaluation of the pilot.

'Sexual offences victims have been through a harrowing ordeal. We need victims to have confidence in the justice system. If we can resolve their cases more quickly, they can move on with their recovery sooner,” says Justice Minister Amy Adams.

'I applaud the judiciary's efforts to improve how the courts respond to sexual violence cases. Simple, practical steps like these can make a real difference. Judges will be able to use all the tools available to them to make the court experience easier for victims and their families.

Amy says the commitment by the judiciary to improving the way the courts respond to sexual violence cases aligns with this Government's resolve to tackle 'this horrific form of abuse”.

She believes the changes will improve how judges, courts staff, lawyers and others involved work together. The pilot is expected to reduce delays, help ensure sexual violence cases are dealt with effectively and consistently, and improve the court experience for victims and others.

'It's estimated that the vast majority of sexual violence offences go unreported. The reasons are complex, but it's clear that some victims see the formal criminal justice system as traumatic and unresponsive to their concerns.

'Victims deserve fair treatment and perpetrators must be held to account.”

Central to the initiative is an education programme on sexual violence for trial judges to start in the New Year. Judges will also be able to draw on Best Practice Guidelines developed by the pilot's governance board to drive tighter pre-trial case management.

Providing specialised education and reducing delays addresses two elements of the Law Commission report, The Justice Response to Victims of Sexual Violence: Criminal Trials and Alternative Processes.

'We are always exploring ways to improve processes in our courts within the current law,” says Chief Judge Doogue.

'The pilot is an example of District Court judges doing what we can where we can. All court participants can rest assured there will be no departure from Bill of Rights principles relating to a fair trial.”

Amy says the Government is also carrying out detailed work looking at the recommendations in the Law Commission's 2015 report.

A total of 82 recommendations were made by The Law Commission in its report, including specialised court processes and procedures for sexual violence cases; establishing an alternative process for resolving cases where victims don't want to go through the court process; and improving support for sexual violence victims so that they are better equipped for engaging with the justice system.

'More broadly, we are implementing a wide range of justice and social sector initiatives, as part of the cross-government family violence and sexual violence ministerial work programme, overseen by myself and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.”

The work programme aims to prevent family violence and sexual violence, reduce the harm they cause, and break the cycle of re-victimisation and re-offending.

'This includes the investment of $46 million in Budget 2016 to develop services to better support sexual violence victims and prevent this horrific form of abuse,” says Amy.