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NSW coercive control bill should extend to dowry abuse, says principal
Whilst a positive step towards eradicating domestic and family violence and abuse (DFVA), the bill should also cover dowry abuse, according to one principal lawyer, who plans to nominate for preselection for NSW Upper House by the Liberal party.
Jess Feyder
NSW has become the first Australian state or territory to create a standalone offence for coercive control, with the bill passing Parliament on Wednesday (16 November), with $5.6 million in funding committed to implementing it.
The decision to implement coercive control legislation was made following an inquiry in 2021 that received more than 150 submissions and heard evidence from 100 witnesses.
The new law makes it an offence to carry out repeated abusive behaviours to a current or former partner, with the intent to coerce or control, and carries a sentence of up to seven years in jail.
“This bill is our bond, our commitment to tackling this insidious evil that is coercive and controlling behaviour,” NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said in his second reading speech.
“Our extensive consultation has included a public discussion paper in 2020; an extensive parliamentary inquiry by the joint select committee on coercive control; a public exposure draft that received almost 200 written submissions; targeted consultations on cabinet in confidence exposure drafts; and almost 30 stakeholder roundtables,” the A-G outlined.
“This unprecedented engagement has allowed us to make careful adjustments to ensure we have the best possible laws to tackle this form of domestic terrorism.”
In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Pallavi Sinha, principal at Lawyers with Solutions, said that whilst the NSW government had "at least eight rounds of consultation in the past two and a half years".
“In NSW, the population comes from 307 ancestries and speaks more than 215 languages,” Ms Sinha illuminated.
“In light of such significant numbers, it is even more important for disaggregated data to be obtained, and legislation and policy to be developed and drafted in a culturally appropriate way."
Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said that the NSW government is standing shoulder to shoulder with victim-survivors and their families, and the families of those whose lives have been tragically taken, in condemning this insidious abuse.
“The NSW government has acted to ensure the lives of women, children and all members of our community will be made safer,” she said.
Within this space, legislation in Victoria and Western Australia has surpassed NSW, with dowry abuse being explicitly mentioned as an example of behaviour that may constitute family violence.
“I have directly heard stories from dowry abuse victim survivors, and I have been lobbying in this area for numerous years,” Ms Sinha told Lawyers Weekly.
“I have met with government ministers and spoken at conferences such as the Second National Annual Dowry Summit in 2019, where women with lived experience came from India, Sydney, Victoria, Adelaide, [and] Brisbane to share their stories and explain how dowry abuse is harmful to mental health.
“I also raised the policy issue as a 2019 Liberal candidate for the NSW Upper House in 2019,” she stated.
“Though it is not specified in the legislation, it’s important that monies allocated towards education, training and awareness efforts are provided to a wide range of stakeholders such as members of the public, community organisations, the police, law enforcement agencies and to those administering justice.
“Training and resources should provide further explanation about what constitutes ‘abusive behaviour’ under the legislation, and, in particular, it should specify case studies and/or examples of how dowry abuse may be considered as ‘abusive behaviour’, and how help can be obtained.”
