At Rowan Skinner & Associates Lawyers, we are dedicated to navigating complex family law issues, including the evolving conversation around coercive control laws. As family lawyers Northcote, we understand the significant challenges that victims face when trying to access justice in cases of intimate partner violence. Recent legislative efforts to criminalise coercive control raise important questions about whether such laws truly offer protection or inadvertently create new barriers for those they aim to help.
While these laws are designed to address psychological harm, they come with uncertainties that must be carefully considered to avoid unintended consequences, particularly for minority groups and marginalised women. In this blog, we explore the limitations of new coercive control legislation, its impact on access to justice, and how legal reforms may need to evolve to better support victims of domestic abuse.
Challenges of New Legislation for Victims | Family Lawyers Northcote
Creating laws to address psychological harm to victims of coercive control is fraught with uncertainty. Lawmakers must be cautious of reactive laws that may soon become redundant. The discourse around coercive control is still evolving, and it’s unclear whether this can be effectively translated into legislative reform. Notably, introducing new legislation does not serve to resolve women’s issues relating to access to justice. These pre-existing concerns include:
- Failure of justice authorities (e.g., police) to enforce criminal law
- Difficulty in proving intimate partner violence offences
- Victims’ reluctance to engage with the legal system, still remain prevalent despite legislative reform
Evidentiary concerns are also largely unanswered. Legislation does not address:
- A victim’s inability to recall exact dates of abusive incidents
- The fact that a victim’s evidence may be uncorroborated; or
- That there may be no evidence of injury sustained
In fact, these issues may be exacerbated by new legislation, which places a heavy reliance on victim testimony — a dangerous expectation, as victims are often in compromised and vulnerable positions during criminal proceedings.
How New Legislation Can Hinder Access to Justice
New laws may unintentionally make it harder for women to seek justice. A key example is the inclusion of a 12-month time limitation on summary offences, which can create yet another barrier for victims. Furthermore, coercive control abuse is not a ‘one size fits all’ factual analysis. This means it requires individualised investigation of each case as perpetrators tailor their abuse specifically to the individual they know most intimately.
There is a greater reliance on victim testimony which is undesirable given the victims often dangerous and compromised position during criminal proceedings. At this stage the victim/survivor is incredibly vulnerable and may struggle to provide a detailed narrative of their abuse, especially if they have not experienced sufficient recovery to identify the abuse inflicted on them.
Unintended Consequences for Minority Groups
Some of the unintended consequences of enacting new legislation to protect women directly creates a burden upon indigenous women. Criminalising coercive control means having a single focus on the criminal justice system, which for many minority women who already face barriers to accessing justice, can exclude them from any attempt to tell their experience of abuse. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, criminalising coercive control could lead to greater state control and an increase in dual arrests in which both parties are arrested in the absence of evidence that distinguishes one party as perpetrator and the other as victim. Domestic violence generally is policed aggressively in minority communities; with Indigenous women being just as likely as non-Indigenous mean to be subject to Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs). Therefore, legislation can have the unwanted impact of exacerbating already disproportionate incarceration rates of minority groups. State intervention and protection can thus be more harmful than abuse in this context.
Moving Forward: A National Strategy and Proper Training for Front-Liners
Educational or public awareness programs would serve to improve the justice systems response to coercive control and reduce the barrier of police and prosecution failing to enforce criminal laws and meet the standard of proof. It is only from the context of a cohesive national strategy that a new offence of coercive control is likely to be most effective. For Evan Stark, the American sociologist that popularised the term, a distinct offence or reforms to include new abusive behaviours under legislation is not sufficient for effective coercive control law. In fact, Stark asserts that legislative reform may not even be necessary if other elements of the coercive control framework are prominent. It is crucial that frontline responders receive training on how to understand, identify and support those who are impacted by coercive control.
Why is it crucial for front-liners to receive proper training?
- Police officers serve an important role as first responders to intimate partner violence. Due to this, it is important for officers to have the ability to consider patterns of behaviour and move away from incident-based policing.
- New policy must be informed by a cohesive framework on coercive control to enable police officers to identify the presence of coercive and controlling behaviour.
- A cohesive framework would highlight the need for officers to look for patterns of behaviour and future safety issues for those involved rather than hastily assessing the parties on an individual incident basis.
It is only from the context of reformed police response to intimate partner violence that legislative reform could be effectively implemented.
Contact Rowan Skinner Today
Have you or anyone you know been impacted by behaviors of coercive control? At Rowan Skinner & Associates Lawyers, we can offer you support during this difficult time.
Rowan Skinner is an Accredited Family Law Specialist with over 30 years in the legal field.
If you want to discuss your family law matter with expert family lawyers Northcote, please contact Rowan Skinner at our office on (03) 9995 9155 for a no-obligation discussion. We service clients in Melbourne, Melbourne Northern Suburbs, such as Northcote, Alphington, Carlton, Fitzroy, North Fitzroy, Kew and Heidelberg, as well as South Melbourne and South Yarra.
Rowan Skinner is a highly skilled family lawyer with over 35 years of experience across various legal roles and jurisdictions. Rowan specialises in resolving family law disputes such as divorce, financial settlements, child custody and domestic violence cases. Through his diverse and extensive experience, Rowan has a deep understanding of the complexities and nuances involved in family law. Rowan is a skilled negotiator and litigator who follows a compassionate and client-focused approach which prioritises helping you navigate what can be an emotional and challenging time.