Hansard debates

Ella GEORGE (Lara) (15:25): I rise today to speak on the Crimes Amendment (Non-fatal Strangulation) Bill 2023. This bill will establish two new offences for non-fatal strangulation where it occurs within the context of family violence. Family violence is a scourge on our society. Family violence is deeply gendered, it is rooted in control and it is designed to cause fear. It is one family member exerting coercive, threatening, dominating or abusive behaviour over another family member or a former partner. It can take many forms and manifest in both physical and non-physical violence, and sometimes it can be physical violence where a victim-survivor does not display any visible injuries. In many cases it happens behind closed doors, hidden away from bystanders who could otherwise intervene. Family violence is prevalent in our community. At least one-quarter of Australian women have experienced family violence, and sadly, we know that family violence kills. Women are dying at the hands of their partners and former partners. On average in Australia one woman is killed by her intimate partner every single week, and in 2023 we have seen this increase to every five days. This is why this reform is needed.

No other government has done more to prevent family violence than this Labor government. It was this government that drove the Royal Commission into Family Violence, delivering all 227 of its recommendations. In fact one of the reasons why I wanted to become a Labor member of Parliament is because of this commitment to preventing and ending family violence. Having worked in the family violence sector, I saw this reform take place before my eyes. I saw up close what change you can create, what impact you can have when you have a government committed to such significant reform. For the first time in this state’s history there has been real action on family violence – not just words but real funding and a real commitment. I must acknowledge previous ministers for their hard work in driving family violence reform in Victoria. In particular I want to acknowledge Australia’s first Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Fiona Richardson for her nation-leading work and deep commitment to keeping women and children safe from harm. I acknowledge the Attorney-General for her commitment to reforming the justice response to family violence in Victoria. I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the family of Joy Rowley for their advocacy, and I thank all the brave victim-survivors, their friends and families for their ongoing advocacy to prevent family violence against women and children.

This bill will introduce two new offences of non-fatal strangulation against a family member into the Crimes Act 1958. It will ensure that an offence of non-fatal strangulation will have a five-year maximum penalty and an offence of non-fatal strangulation intentionally causing injury will have a 10-year maximum penalty. In addition, this bill will make consequential amendments to the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 so that non-fatal strangulation is also recognised as an act of family violence. This will assist with intervention orders, consideration of bail applications and protections for witnesses giving evidence. The offences will enhance the protection of victim-survivors, particularly victim-survivors of family violence; more effectively hold offenders to account; provide clearer indication to police and community service practitioners of escalating violence and control in family violence contexts; further raise awareness of the dangers and potential lethality of non-fatal strangulation among police, courts and community service practitioners; and drive more effective medical, legal and law enforcement responses. These new offences will build on the work that our government has been doing to protect and support victim-survivors of family violence, hold perpetrators to account and help change community attitudes towards family violence.

This bill is an important step in our family violence reform, as we know that non-fatal strangulation is frequent within family violence circumstances, and we know that unfortunately non-fatal strangulation is rarely a once-off. In fact research from all over the world tells us that non-fatal strangulation is a risk factor when it comes to escalating family violence. Research undertaken by the government of South Australia found that women who survive a non-fatal strangulation are more than seven times as likely to be killed by their partner in the future. Research undertaken by the Melbourne Law School found that up to three-quarters of women escaping domestic and family violence and residing in shelters report experiences of non-fatal strangulation from their previous partner. This is devastating. What this and other research make clear is that there is a strong link between non-fatal strangulation and escalating family violence risk that can lead to death.

Monash University’s Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre completed a research brief titled Strangulation, Risk and Intimate Partner Violence. It states that:

Strangulation is also a leading cause of death among women killed by a current or former male intimate partner.

In Australia over the last 10 years an act of strangulation or suffocation has been cited as the cause of death of 14 to 16 per cent of male-perpetrated intimate partner homicides. Across the nation other states have implemented similar legislation. In May 2016 Queensland introduced an offence for non-fatal strangulation. Analysis by the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council shows that from June 2016 to June 2018 there were more than 400 cases sentenced for the non-fatal strangulation offence. In almost half of these cases, the offence was also a breach of a domestic violence protection order, again demonstrating that link between non-fatal strangulation and escalating family violence.

This bill will have a broad definition to avoid any issues seen in other states, where a narrow implementation has meant that a very high evidentiary burden has been placed on the prosecution. In Victoria both offences will prohibit choking, strangling or suffocating, which will be defined non-exhaustively as applying pressure to the front or sides of the neck, obstructing or interfering with a person’s respiratory system or impeding respiration. In both offences there is a requirement of intent to engage in the conduct of choking that I just outlined. This requirement will ensure that the legislation is not applied to accidents and that there are safeguards in place for legitimate behaviours, and this will ensure that it is in line with other states who have introduced similar legislation.

Our government has a very strong commitment to addressing the insidious effects of family violence within our community. This bill’s underlying principle is to improve the Victorian criminal justice system’s response to family violence. This bill will ensure that the penalties can be tailored to specifically respond to the heightened risk that family violence offenders bring and therefore enhance protections to victim-survivors. This bill will use the same broad and flexible definition of ‘family member’ that is used in section 8 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008.

Non-fatal strangulation often reveals an ongoing and escalating pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour, especially when it occurs in family violence circumstances. This bill along with our government’s establishment of the royal commission and implementation of the entire 227 recommendations are an acknowledgement of the seriousness with which the Victorian community has come to regard family violence and its consequences for individuals and families. Victoria completed Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2015. The commission made 227 recommendations to reduce the impact of family violence in our community and to keep victim-survivors safe. On 28 January 2023 the Victorian government announced the implementation of the final recommendation, marking the completion of our commitment to introduce every single one of the recommendations. That is because we are a government serious about taking on this challenging issue that our community is facing. We know that family violence does not just impact the victim-survivor, it impacts their children, their pets and their wider families. It also has a huge impact on communities. The Victorian Labor governments led by Premier Allan and Premier Andrews have been a world leader in this space, investing over $3.7 billion in preventing and responding to family violence. This commitment includes opening services such as the Orange Door and Specialist Family Violence Courts.

On a personal note I had the privilege of working on the Specialist Family Violence Court project, and I am so pleased to see this up and running right across our state. We know that these courts, the Orange Door services and all the other family violence services across the state have provided support to so many victim-survivors of family violence. Family violence is not an issue that discriminates. People from all walks of life can be affected by family violence. As I have shared with the house before, when I speak to women and explain my background working in the family violence court system, so many brave women have spoken up and shared their own horrendous experiences of family violence. Unfortunately, I hear many of these stories when speaking to the local community that I represent. According to the Crime Statistics Agency, the Greater Geelong area has reported the second-highest number of family violence incidents across the state in the last financial year, and that is why bills like this one today are just so important, because we all collectively must do everything we can to combat family violence.

As the Minister for Women mentioned earlier in this debate, the absence of a standalone offence in Victoria has created a barrier to identifying, reporting and prosecuting non-fatal strangulation. This bill corrects that, addressing the unique risk profile of non-fatal strangulation as an act of family violence, which has been a key driver of these reforms. That is why I commend this bill to the house, and I wish it a speedy passage.