❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Attorney General on the delay in releasing the report on coercive control legislation and the timeline for systemic reforms. The Attorney General explains the delay and outlines steps towards legislative reform and education.
AnsweredQoN 897Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COERCIVE CONTROL — LEGISLATION
897. Ms L. METTAM to the Attorney General:
I
refer to the Attorney General's brief ministerial statement today
regarding legislative responses to coercive control in Western Australia.
(1) Given that
the report states that urgent systemic and legislative reform is required to
respond to coercive control, why has it taken 18 months since consultation
closed for the report findings to be released?
(2) How long will
it take for the appropriate systemic reforms and education and training to be
put in place to enable the legislation to be introduced?
897. Ms L. METTAM to the Attorney General:
I
refer to the Attorney General's brief ministerial statement today
regarding legislative responses to coercive control in Western Australia.
(1) Given that
the report states that urgent systemic and legislative reform is required to
respond to coercive control, why has it taken 18 months since consultation
closed for the report findings to be released?
(2) How long will
it take for the appropriate systemic reforms and education and training to be
put in place to enable the legislation to be introduced?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Cabinet
has accepted the report of the Commissioner for Victims of Crime on coercive
control. It is a new area to the law in Western Australia. It will take some
time to socialise the legal profession, the police and other justice people to
the pattern of behaviour of coercive control because if we look from outside a relationship,
any particular act might be innocuous, as pointed out in the report. A man who
catches a train to work every day might take the car one day, and it looks
innocuous. If he heard the night before that his wife was planning an outing
with her friends from whom he was trying to isolate her, we can see that that
becomes another circumstance of coercive control.
I have cabinet's permission
to move to draft legislative reforms in the restraining order area to identify coercive control as one of those areas upon which
the court can find domestic violence and issue a restraining order. Over
time, I think the community and the courts will become educated in coercive
control and how to best deal with it in a court setting.
has accepted the report of the Commissioner for Victims of Crime on coercive
control. It is a new area to the law in Western Australia. It will take some
time to socialise the legal profession, the police and other justice people to
the pattern of behaviour of coercive control because if we look from outside a relationship,
any particular act might be innocuous, as pointed out in the report. A man who
catches a train to work every day might take the car one day, and it looks
innocuous. If he heard the night before that his wife was planning an outing
with her friends from whom he was trying to isolate her, we can see that that
becomes another circumstance of coercive control.
I have cabinet's permission
to move to draft legislative reforms in the restraining order area to identify coercive control as one of those areas upon which
the court can find domestic violence and issue a restraining order. Over
time, I think the community and the courts will become educated in coercive
control and how to best deal with it in a court setting.
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