The New South Wales government is set to table new legislation against choking in Parliament today.
Proposed amendments to the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 [CHRO Act] will place serious strangulation offences into definitions of “serious violence offence” and “serious sex offence”, which are in the same category as other crimes including murder and manslaughter.
The Bill, which will be discussed in Parliament today, is informed by research from the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review team, which found a link between choking and domestic homicide.
The research found over one quarter of intimate partner homicides occurred after the abuser strangled the victim prior to the attack that led to their death.
Becoming a victim of homicide or attempted homicide rises up to 800 per cent when prior attempted, non-fatal stragulation occurs, according to the research.
Yasmin Catley, the Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, said the NSW police and government have a “resolute commitment” to turning these statistics around.
“These amendments send a strong message to abusers,” Minister Catley said.
“Strangulation and choking must be taken extremely seriously and that’s what this government is doing.
“The fact is domestic and family violence is a pervasive scourge on our society, the trauma not only impacts the victim, but their family, friends and the entire community.”
According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, domestic violence and assaults are the only two of the 13 major crime categories whose rate of occurrence showed an upward trend over the last five years.
While domestic violence assaults increased by 13.5 per cent, sexual assaults increased by 29.8 per cent.
NSW Attorney General Michael Daley said reducing the rate of these crimes is a “top priority” for the government.
“It is crucial that our legislation capture the kind of violent offending that may escalate to homicide,” the Attorney General said.
“This Bill leaves no doubt as to the gravity of serious strangulation offences and sends a strong message to offenders who continue to pose an unacceptable risk of committing a serious offence at the end of their prison sentence.”
The Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said the proposed amendments would ensure male perpetrators of violence against women “are appropriately dealt with by our legal systems”.
“Non-fatal strangulation is a serious and violent form of intimate partner violence and victims are at elevated risk of future homicide,” Minister Harrison said.
“I am committed to working together with Attorney General Michael Daley and Police Minister Yasmin Catley to make sure women and children in NSW are kept safe.
“Together we can make NSW free from domestic and family violence.”