The Department of Justice is seeking community views about whether to introduce laws specifically targeting the family violence behaviour known as coercive control.
In a statement, the Department said through the Legislative Responses to Coercive Control in Western Australia Discussion Paper , victim-survivors, specialists in legal and family violence and members of the community would be asked for feedback on how best to respond to this behaviour.
“Coercive control can include threats, humiliation, manipulation and isolation, which can undermine a victim-survivor’s autonomy and capacity to resist or escape abuse,” the Department said.
“WA already recognises and responds to coercive control in a variety of ways through the criminal justice system — but new laws might be needed,” it said.
The Department said the consultation would gauge community awareness of coercive control and how frontline responders could recognise these patterns of abuse.
“Legislative changes or other responses must benefit victim-survivors and not lead to adverse impacts, particularly for vulnerable members of the community,” it said.
“The consultation process will complement the whole-of-Government and community plans for reducing and addressing family violence, set out in Path to Safety: Western Australia’s Strategy to Reduce Family and Domestic Violence. ”
Director General of the Department, Adam Tomison said the aim of the consultation was to improve the safety of victim-survivors as well as ensure accountability for perpetrators.
“It is very important to consider how vulnerable groups such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disabilities, children and the elderly could be impacted by a new criminal offence covering coercive control,” Dr Tomison said.
Commissioner for Victims of Crime, Kati Kraszlan said family violence went beyond one-off instances of physical violence, and any act of violence was too many.
“The question now is whether offences should be constructed to deal with a pattern of behaviour, rather than an isolated incident,” Ms Kraszlan said.
“To get the right response to coercive control, we need to know what the community wants,” she said.
Submissions close on 30 July and the 11-page Discussion Paper, including information on how to have a say, can be accessed at this PS News link.
