The service in a submission on a review to the legislation said it respected the intention to protect the anonymity of victim during court proceedings but said the choice should rest with the victims themselves.

It said this should be the case if a victim was aged over 18 years old, if they had the mental capacity to make the decision, and if it did not identify other victims who had not consented to their name being released.

The service said an abuse survivor should not have to require the court to publish their name and should not have to provide justification for their name being made public.

"We suggest that this application process be facilitated through the Department of Justice as they are best placed to ascertain the survivor's capacity to consent," it said. Community Legal Centres Tasmania policy officer Ben Bartl agreed with the right to waive anonymity.

"We strongly believe that providing the complainant with the power to consent to the publication of their identity will not only have the effect of empowering the victim and potentially assisting them with the healing process but it may also encourage other victims to report sexual crimes committed against them," he said.

Mr Bartl said only a small number of studies demonstrated that only a small proportion of sexual assaults were reported to police and fewer resulted in charges or prosecution when compared to other criminal offences