It began with an 18th birthday party. The trial that followed still haunts Nadia - ABC News

Nadia Bach didn't go to many high school parties.

She says it was "the kind of kiss you would give your mother".

Those questions still frustrate her, because that kiss was not part of the allegations that led to the trial.

She liked one of the men, they flirted a bit and shared a kiss.

One criminologist says the questions that two defence barristers asked Nadia during the first trial should "shock our moral consciousness".

And one of the country's leading trauma psychiatrists is using this case to sound the alarm about the level of psychological distress that she says sexual assault complainants are experiencing within our justice systems.

A level of trauma so high, that she says she is aware of women taking their own lives while trying to pursue sexual assault claims through the courts.

Nadia was never identified — a legal restriction designed to protect the privacy of sexual assault complainants — but it didn't make much of a difference for Nadia.

Victoria also has what are known as Rape Shield Laws, which are designed to protect sexual assault complainants from being questioned about their sexual history or reputation.

It's a measure designed to reduce the trauma and stress of giving evidence for sexual assault complainants, as it means they do not need to be in the same room as the accused person.

She was asked about whether she had flirted with the men before the alleged attacks and about that consensual kiss she shared with one of them.

Defence barrister Hayden Rattray began his cross-examination by establishing that Nadia had been at the party and how she had been invited, before asking these questions.

Nadia Bach: I was wearing boots, jeans, a belt, a leather jacket, a jumper underneath, and a top underneath that.

Nadia Bach: It was long-sleeved, and high neckline, black.

Nadia Bach: Sheer material.

Nadia Bach: Yes, and I was still wearing my jacket.

Nadia Bach: I have something over my bra, but under my shirt, yes.

Nadia was also questioned by both defence barristers about that kiss she shared with a female friend earlier in the night at the party?

Mr Rattray asked Nadia about the kiss during his cross-examination.

Nadia described the kiss as a closed-mouth kiss on the lips and not sexual?

Nadia Bach: Yeah.

Nadia Bach: Um….

Mr Rattray would again seek to link that kiss to Nadia's alcohol consumption at another point in his cross-examination, where he also asked whether she had intended to sleep with the accused men that night.

Nadia Bach: No.

Nadia Bach: I can say absolutely that did not happen.

Nadia Bach: I can absolutely say that I would not say that, because at the time, I was a virgin.

Hayden Rattray: You'd been drinking.

Nadia Bach: Yes.

Hayden Rattray: You'd been behaving in a way that you wouldn't have been behaving had you not been drinking, correct.

Nadia Bach: I had been drinking before.

Hayden Rattray: You'd been kissing a friend of yours on the lips.

Nadia Bach: Closed mouth.

Hayden Rattray: And you're adamant that you did not say to [----], "I don't know yet, we'll see.

Nadia Bach: Yes.

Hayden Rattray: No room for uncertainty around that.

Nadia Bach: Absolutely sure.

Nadia says she was shocked by the questions about that kiss with her friend.

She says it didn't have anything to do with the alleged rapes and she couldn't understand why she was being asked about it.

She says many of the questions that were put to her were not about the alleged rapes but were about who she was as a person.

Nadia says she understands the defence barristers had a job to do.

Julia Quilter from the University of Wollongong is one of the country's leading academic authorities on sexual assault law reform and trial practise?

She says these are concerning comments from a judge.

She says where comments like these are known, they should be the subject of a formal complaint and investigation.

"I was just disappointed and scared that I would have to go through it all again, a second time," Nadia says.

She told the defence barristers, Mr Morgan and Mr Rattray, during a pre-trial hearing:.

She was most concerned about the questions that were put to Nadia about her appearance and clothing on the night, as well as the questions about the kiss with a female friend.

Mr Rattray argued that his questions only needed "bare relevance" to be included in the second trial.

Mr Rattray argued in court that his questions about Nadia's appearance were relevant to the trial because they showed his client could remember what Nadia had worn on that night.

Hayden Rattray: But there's nothing in any of these questions I've asked that's improper, they're not even leading.

She outlined her concern that these questions were inadmissible because they related to prior sexual activity.

Mr Rattray argued that the kiss between Nadia and her friend should not be considered sexual activity.

She ruled that the questions about that kiss could not be included in the second trial

For her the question remains: Why were these questions asked, and allowed to remain, during the first trial

Mr Morgan and Mr Triandos did not respond to detailed questions asked by the ABC

Mr Rattray said in a statement that he asked Nadia about her clothing "because the answers were relevant to my client's recorded interview with police"

"In that interview, police asked my client to describe what Ms Bach was wearing," he said

Mr Rattray said he asked Nadia the question about the kiss she shared with a friend to show she had a separate conversation with other friends at the party where she discussed whether she was going to have sex with one of the accused men later that night

Mr Rattray says he also asked about that kiss with a friend to show "Ms Bach lied to the jury when she denied having this conversation in her evidence". 

What she does say is that Nadia's case demonstrates problems with how some sexual assault complainants are still being questioned, despite 40 years of law reform

Rachael Burgin is a law lecturer at Swinburne University and is the Executive Director of the Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy group

She says we should be shocked that sexual assault complainants are still being asked about their appearance in rape trials

Law Institute of Victoria president Tania Wolff says sexual assault trials are incredibly stressful on everyone involved, and that defence lawyers have extensive legal training and training in courtroom advocacy

She says in terms of "sensitivity training", the trial process "is an adversarial system, that is our current system and there is a lot at stake, the liberty of an individual is at stake."

Karen Williams is a NSW psychiatrist who has spent the past decade treating sexual assault victims, and argues our justice system is not run in a way that is trauma informed

Those feelings can be made worse, Dr Williams says, if police or lawyers ask a woman to justify her decisions or behaviour before or after an alleged assault, or blame the person for what occurred

Dr Williams is aware of women who have become so distressed while going through the courts as a sexual assault complainant, they have taken their own lives

She wants to see mental health professionals working with police and lawyers to create a more trauma informed approach to sexual assault cases and trials