Persons in NSW can now be charged and convicted of the criminal offence of coercive control. The new law came into force on 1 July.
Coercive control is essentially about creating and maintaining power and dominance over another person. The new stand-alone offence, the first of its kind in Australia, is contained in section 54D of the Crimes Act which makes it an offence to carry out repeated abusive behaviours to a current or former intimate partner with the intent to coerce or control them.
Whilst coercive control can occur in other types of relationships, the current legislation is confined to intimate partner relationships due to the link between coercive control and intimate partner deaths.
The Legislation
Under section 54D(1) of the Act, an adult commits an offence if –
(a) the adult engages in a course of conduct against another person that consists of abusive behaviour, and
(b) the adult and other person are or were intimate partners, and
(c) the adult intends the course of conduct to coerce or control the other person, and
(d) a reasonable person would consider the course of conduct would be likely, in all the circumstances, to cause any or all of the following, whether or not the fear or impact is in fact caused-
(i) fear that violence will be used against the other person or another person, or
(ii) a serious adverse impact on the capacity of the other person to engage in some or all of the person’s ordinary day-to-day activities.
If found guilty the maximum penalty is 7 years imprisonment.
Under section 54E of the Act, a person will have a defence if they can show that the course of conduct was reasonable in all the circumstances.
What is ‘abusive behaviour’?
Abusive behaviour means behaviour that consists of or involves the following:
(a) violence or threats against, or intimidation of, a person, or
(b) coercion or control of the person against whom the behaviour is directed.
Examples of abusive behaviour include:
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- behaviour that causes harm to a child if a person fails to comply with demands made of the person,
- behaviour that is economically or financially abusive,
- behaviour that shames, degrades or humiliates,
- behaviour that causes damage to or destruction of property,
- isolating an individual from their friends and family,
- behaviour that harasses a person, or monitors or tracks their activities, or
- behaviour that deprives a person of, or restricts, their liberty.
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Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) report
The new coercive control offence coincided with the release of a report by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) which highlighted the pervasiveness of domestic violence in Australia. The AIC report found that more than 20% of adult Australians have committed some form of sexual violence. Men were more likely than women to engage in such behaviour, with 13.2% of men perpetrating sexual violence in the past 12 months opposed to 6.6% of women.
Based on a survey of more than 5,000 Australians, the report covered a range of conduct constituting sexual violence including sexual harassment and coercion, sexual assault and image-based sexual abuse. According to the report, the most common form of sexual harassment or coercion was pressuring someone for a date or a relationship, or for sexual activity, whilst the most common form of sexual assault was non-consensual kissing or touching. Most perpetrators of such offences, however, never face criminal prosecution because the majority of such offences are never reported.
Baker Love Lawyers has experience advising and assisting clients with respect to domestic violence matters. If you require advice and assistance please contact us on 02 4944 3322.
