Prima Facie

Prima facie evidence (Latin for "at first sight") describes the legal assumption that a typical situation actually occurred in a typical way, as long as the opposite - for example guilt - has not been clearly proven. Tessa Ensler, a young and aspiring criminal defense lawyer, also believes in this principle. Among other things, she specializes in defending sexual offence trials and has mastered the methods of cross-examination and presenting evidence against the plaintiffs to perfection. After all, it's about the truth, the legal truth. The defense lawyer's job is simply to tell her client's best story. Tessa's hardened belief in the functioning and justice of this system is painfully shaken when she herself becomes the victim of rape on a date and now finds herself in a completely different role in court - knowing full well that the chances of a conviction for sexual offenses are vanishingly small. Because, as is so often the case, it's testimony against testimony. In this award-winning and widely performed monologue, Suzie Miller, author and former defence lawyer herself, traces how the (mostly female) experience of sexualized violence does not follow the logic of the evidence of a patriarchal legal system. And that it is precisely for this reason that justice is so rarely served. From reversal of guilt and rape culture, from no means no or only yes means yes - Suzie Miller's PRIMA FACIE, which premiered in Sydney in 2019, impressively reflects the legal and social debates surrounding sexual self-determination and the criminal law reforms of recent years.