New family violence laws have come into effect in Tasmania, including a new stand-alone criminal offence of non-fatal strangulation, choking and suffocation.
The definition of consent has also been extended in Tasmania, to now include what is colloquially known as “stealthing”, the intentional removal of a condom without consent.
Tasmania’s Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Elise Archer, said the reforms send a strong signal to the community about violence.
“Violence in any form is never acceptable, and these reforms appropriately strengthen our laws and send a strong message that such violence will not be tolerated in Tasmania,” Archer said in a statement.
“Our Government is committed to protecting victim-survivors of family violence and ensuring perpetrators are appropriately held to account for their crimes, and I am very pleased to have delivered these significant reforms.”
The new laws have been introduced in the Criminal Code Amendment Bill 2022 and follow a 2019 coroner’s investigation into the murder of a woman in 2014. It recommended the Tasmanian government consider making choking, suffocation, and non-fatal strangulation a specific criminal offence.
The law brings Tasmania into line with other jurisdictions in Australia. According to a 2021 report from the Sentencing Advisory Council, research shows that non-fatal strangulation is a “significant risk factor for future intimate partner homicide”.
In her second reading speech on the amendments to the criminal code, Elise Archer recognised that non-fatal strangulation, choking and suffocation is a “significant form of violence” that can be a precursor for escalation in the severity of family and domestic violence.
“The Bill inserts a new section into the Criminal Code, stating that a person who intentionally and unlawfully chokes, suffocates or strangles another person is guilty of a crime,” Archer said in June.
“Strangulation, choking or suffocation is an abhorrent form of violence. It carries risk of serious physical injury and/or death and can often lead to further family violence behaviour. This Bill appropriately recognises the seriousness of this conduct so that it can be charged and prosecuted as a specific indictable offence.”
The reforms in Tasmania follow a meeting between Attorneys-General across Australia this month, that committed to improve justice responses for sexual assault survivors. There was agreement to strengthen legal frameworks to ensure victim-survivors have improved justice outcomes.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit
1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
Image above: Elise Archer