Domestic violence perpetrators in Queensland who repeatedly use violence or abuse to control others in relationships can now be charged with the new offence of coercive control.
The new criminal offence applies to acts of violence or abuse forming a course of conduct committed from 26 May and carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for Integrity Deb Frecklington said it was timely that committing coercive control became a crime in Queensland during Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month.
“The credit for these reforms is owed to the courageous families of domestic violence victims, who spoke out and called for change, despite their personal pain,” the Attorney-General said.
Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Amanda Camm said the new coercive control laws would see a shift in focus from responding to single incidents of violence to the patterns of abusive behaviours that occur over time.
“Coercive control is almost always an underpinning dynamic of domestic and family violence,” Minister Camm said.
“It can include physical and non-physical forms of abuse and creates a climate of fear, humiliation, isolation, that over time, erodes the victim’s sense of identity, freedom and independence.
“Hannah Clarke’s parents Sue and Lloyd were standing beside me only a month ago as I reaffirmed this Government’s commitment to major domestic and family violence reforms so we can protect victims sooner.
“Coercive control and domestic and family violence have no place in our society and too many have already lost their lives as a result.”
Coercive control is when someone deliberately uses abusive behaviours against another person to control or dominate them – including physical or non-physical abuse used to hurt, humiliate, isolate, frighten or threaten another person.
The offence applies to an adult in a domestic relationship who engages in a course of domestic violence conduct against the other person in the relationship more than once, and intends that conduct to coerce or control the other person.
The conduct must be reasonably likely to cause the other person harm.
To address the significant impact of domestic violence on children, courts must also now consider additional aggravating factors, including whether a child was the victim or was exposed to the DV act.
In addition, limits on publication of information about sexual offence complainants will change, allowing for victim-survivors of sexual violence to identify themselves.
