How we define domestic and family violence is fundamental to ending it.
For generations our criminal justice system has been centred on responding to individual instances of violence, which are normally physical. Put simply, it’s a system set-up to react to the sickening assaults and horrific murders, mainly against women, which tragically make the headlines.
And while every single attack is one too many, we also need to start shifting our focus.
The criminal justice system must be given the tools to identify and prosecute the dangerous patterns of controlling behaviour in a relationship that occur over time. It needs to respond to the red flags, well before that blue police tape surrounds another family home.
This week, Queensland took a huge and historic step towards improving the system for women and girls. And I was humbled to announce some of the most landmark reforms this nation has ever seen.
We will make coercive control a crime. These new laws will not only hold perpetrators to account, but will finally give family and friends the legal language to call it out.
Coercive control is debilitating, isolating and manipulating. It’s telling a woman what she can wear, who she can see, and how she can spend her money. And sadly, we know it’s the most common factor leading up to intimate
partner murder.
This form of crippling control was what Hannah Clarke endured before she and her three precious children were so horrifically killed.
Her parents Sue and Lloyd have campaigned tirelessly ever since, to ensure no other family suffers what they have suffered.
At state parliament on Tuesday, they sat alongside the loved ones of Allison Baden-Clay, Doreen Langham and Kelly Wilkinson, as we announced a $363 million dollar reform package. It was an extremely emotional moment to look up and see their support from the public gallery. Their tears and trauma has undoubtedly led to lasting change.
But new laws alone won’t save lives. We need the criminal justice system to be more trauma informed and
place victims at the forefront.
That’s why we’ve announced funding for more specialist domestic violence courts. We’ll also bolster co-responder models to ensure victims receive a joint response from police and DFV services, and we’re expanding perpetrator programs to break the cycle earlier. Importantly, we’re extending respectful relationships training for young people, to teach boys and girls how to better recognise controlling behaviour.
We know that many women and girls too often feel sidelined and ignored when they’ve made the brave decision to report abuse. That’s why we’ve announced a Commission of Inquiry – the equivalent of a royal commission – into police responses.
It was a key recommendation of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce report, after it heard the heartbreaking stories of more than 700 women who feared the system had failed them.
I want to be very clear, this inquiry isn’t about blaming police. It’s about making sure when a victim needs help to escape any form of abuse, she’s listened to, supported and protected. The days of downplaying domestic violence complaints must be behind us.
We can do better. And it starts by reforming the system.