Former United Nations human rights lawyer Hannah Tonkin has been appointed as NSW’s first women’s safety commissioner.
The appointment comes as part of NSW’s response to domestic and family violence, to help address key gaps in the response. Tonkin will step into the role this January and told the Sydney Morning Herald that helping to “guide the implementation” of NSW’s new coercive control laws will be central to her new position.
This past November, NSW became the first Australian state to criminalise coercive control– a pattern of behaviours, including physical, social, financial, psychological and technology-facilitated abuse used to harm, punish or frighten the domestic abuse victim.
The new laws come into effect in 2024 and Tonkin will work closely with the taskforce established by the government to implement the legislation.
Tonkin has a broad range of experience in international law, human rights and humanitarian policy. She’s worked as an international lawyer at the United Nations and other international organisations, as the Director of Disability Rights at the Australian Human Rights Commission and as a barrister at Hanson Chambers (Adelaide) and Garden Court Chambers (London).
Holding a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and a Bachelor of Civil Law (Master’s Degree) from the University of Oxford where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar, Tonkin has gone back to teach international law at the University of Oxford and at the University of Adelaide.
Adding to her extensive experience, she’s also the Co-Chair of the National Women and Girls’ Rights Subcommittee and a member of the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights Executive Management Committee.
Along with steering the coercive control implementation, Tonkin said she’s committed to establishing greater dialogue and tailored programs with First Nations communities, migrant groups, disability advocates and LGBTQI communities.
She will also lead the implementation of the Perrottet government’s five-year plans to eliminate sexual, domestic and family violence.
“Better integration and coordination is one of the key priorities,” Tonkin told the Herald. “We need to avoid having [government agencies] working in silos on these issues.”
Minister for Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Natalie Ward said Tonkin would be a meaningful advocate for women.