‘Everybody hates you every single day’: Why the Silvagni case is the tip of the iceberg |
‘Everybody hates you every single day’: Why the Silvagni case is the tip of the iceberg
March 3, 2026 — 5:00am
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When a magistrate, and later a judge, ruled that young rapist Tom Silvagni could hide his identity behind suppression orders throughout his prosecution, they were disrupting hundreds of years of legal doctrine.
English 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham wrote that publicity was not just part of the legal system, it was “the very soul of justice”. Why? Because exposing the workings of courts to public discussion and questioning means people feel ownership of a socially crucial system. When it works well, they’ll feel faith in it. When it’s going badly, they can lobby for change.
Unfortunately, in the past decade or more, an aversion to this soul of justice has infected parts of Victoria’s justice system.
In the case of Silvagni – the son of an AFL great – for almost 18 months, journalists were barred from reporting his name, any personal information about him or his family that might cause him to be identified, or any details about how and why the gag order had been made.
Silvagni’s expensive lawyers used expert evidence gathered from psychiatrists to convince the magistrate and judge that, if he was named, his safety – meaning his mental health – was in danger. They said he was so disturbed by the prospect of his name being made public that he was a suicide risk.
Son of AFL great revealed to........