COERCIVE CONTROL REFORM

Domestic and family abuse remains a scourge on our community and we must continue looking at ways to address it.

A NSW parliamentary committee has spent the past eight months looking at coercive control reform. Coercive control is domestic abuse that involves repeated patterns of behaviour – which can include physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or financial abuse – the cumulative effect of which robs victim-survivors of their autonomy and independence.

I have previously supported legislation introduced by the Opposition to make coercive control an offence.  The Government didn’t support that legislation, but they did establish a joint select committee, which has now recommended that an offence of coercive control be introduced. The government will now have the task of framing that legislation.

I also welcome the report’s recommendations for additional resources for the agencies that are trying to help people through difficult situations of domestic and family violence, and support for police who are being called to incidents dealing with this.

A really important part of this will be community education and the joint select committee has recommended a public education campaign so people understand what we are talking about: psychological and emotional abuse that leads to physical abuse in domestic and family situations.