Dec 28, 2021

Coercive control in intimate relationships to be criminalised in NSW

Hannah Clarke and her children were killed by her estranged husband after years of coercive control. COURTESY OF HANNAH CLARKE’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Lucy Cormack
Sydney Morning Herald
December 18, 2021


Coercive control in intimate partner relationships will become a crime in NSW, with the government moving to create a stand-alone offence for the abusive behaviour that is a precursor to almost every domestic homicide.

Outlawing repeated patterns of abusive behaviour, which can be physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or financial, is among 17 recommendations the state government will support from a parliamentary inquiry testing calls to criminalise coercive control.

The government will also respond by reviewing school programs, while comprehensive training on coercive control will also be introduced across government systems, communities and public campaigns.

Attorney-General and Minister for Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Mark Speakman will release the government’s response to the inquiry on Saturday and soon begin consulting to draft the law.

“It’s pretty clear the criminal law has this gap,” he said. “When I became the minister two-and-a-half years ago I had never heard of coercive control and I suspect many of my colleagues hadn’t either.

“No person deserves to live in fear, and it is among our responsibilities in government to uphold the safety and human dignity of all of our citizens.”

The eight-month inquiry heard evidence from victim-survivors, frontline service workers and members of the criminal justice system about the cumulative effect of denying people autonomy and independence.

Minister for Mental Health and Women Bronnie Taylor said domestic abuse took many forms and was “unacceptable”.

Controlling what someone wears and who they see, limiting access to money, tracking their location and incessant texting and phone calls are all behaviours that constitute coercive control.

While NSW law already recognises that domestic abuse extends beyond physical violence and can involve patterns of abuse, the government believes more can be done.

“Any legislative reform must be approached with great care and caution to ensure it does not unintentionally put in further danger those in our community we are seeking to help,” the government’s response to the inquiry said.

Among concerns raised by stakeholders is the challenge of proving a course of behaviour, over-criminalisation of marginalised groups and that perpetrators of violence could use coercive control laws to make vexatious complaints against real victim-survivors.

Mr Speakman said the government recognised all valid concerns, noting that “generally speaking, criminal law is incident-based rather than behaviour based”.

“That’s why a period of consultation on the form of the draft [legislation] is so important. More important than that is that once legislation is enacted, there is a period in which police and frontline services can be trained.”

The Queensland government committed to legislate against coercive control in November 2020, while a taskforce recently recommended several reforms to the justice system be rolled out before coercive control was criminalised from 2024.

The murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children – Aaliyah, Laianah, and Trey – in February 2020 drew the issue of coercive control into the national spotlight.

Ms Clarke’s family said she was the victim of sexual and emotional abuse for years, before she and her children were ambushed, doused in petrol and set alight by Ms Clarke’s estranged husband.

The NSW government aims to introduce a bill to Parliament in the second half of next year, with laws potentially enacted by the end of 2023.

Since the inquiry Mr Speakman said there had been consensus across the political spectrum, “from the Greens through to One Nation,” while support for the committee’s recommendations was unanimous.

“This is something that should be above politics, and fortunately most members of NSW Parliament get that,” he said.

Domestic Violence NSW chief executive Delia Donovan welcomed the response and said consultation, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally and linguistically diverse services would be critical to reforms.
Lucy Cormack

Lucy Cormack is a state political reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.



https://amp.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/coercive-control-in-intimate-relationships-to-be-criminalised-in-nsw-20211217-p59ij8.html

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