It is not necessary that each discrete piece of a complainant's tendency evidence be supported from a source independent of the complainant before it can be admitted as tendency evidence under s 97(1)(b) of the Evidence Act 2008. The persistent use of the word 'rape' when the charge is incest may not give rise to a miscarriage of justice where defence counsel failed to object at trial and there may have been a rational forensic basis for not objecting. However, Priest JA's dissent provides a detailed analysis of when unsupported complainant tendency evidence may lack significant probative value, which may be influential in future cases.
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