Western Australian Government to Consult Community on Tackling Coercive Control

Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence, Simone McGurk, said it's distressing that women in WA and across the nation are being abused this way by people who are supposed to love and care for them.(Kamira/Shutterstock)

The Western Australian (WA) government is inviting Western Australians to share their views on whether specific laws should be introduced to combat coercive control in relationships.

According to a release on Tuesday, the WA criminal justice system already recognises and responds to coercive control in various ways, but the government will consult victim-survivors, legal and family violence specialists and members of the community on whether more targeted laws are needed.

Relationships Australia defines coercive control as a form of psychological abuse that “can look different in each situation, but fundamentally describes all the ways in which one person intimidates, threatens, or pressures another to ensure they will comply with directives.”

The perpetrator imposes psychological force, potentially involving significant duress, the threat of violence, or punishment if the victim doesn’t comply with their requests. This is a regime of behaviour and therefore happens repeatedly.

Through intimidation and fear of retribution, the victim becomes less of themselves, always trying to reduce tension in the household and keep violence at bay.

Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence, Simone McGurk, said it’s distressing that women in WA and across the nation are being abused this way by people who are supposed to love and care for them.

“Coercive control is a pattern of persistent abusive behaviour that aims to manipulate, intimidate and isolate victims mentally, emotionally, socially and financially,” she said.

Consideration of new laws against coercive control brings up complex legal, policy and social issues, the release states, and any legislative change or response must benefit victims, and not bring about negative impacts, especially for vulnerable people.

“As a government, we want to make sure any measures that are put in place achieve the best outcomes for victim-survivors, and that is why consultation is so important,” McGurk said.

Part of the consultation will focus on the current degree of community awareness of coercive control and how frontline responders can recognise the patterns of abuse involved.

The consultation comes as a complement to the initiative called “Path to Safety: Western Australia’s Strategy to Reduce Family and Domestic Violence 2020-2030“.

This ten-year strategy has been informed by research, lessons learned from efforts to tackle the problem so far, and through consultation with almost 3,000 people and 281 community organisations in WA.

The framework for change consists of working with Aboriginal people to strengthen family safety, acting now to keep people safe and hold perpetrators to account, developing primary prevention to stop family and domestic violence, and reforming systems to prioritise safety, accountability, and collaboration.

WA Attorney General John Quigley said the consultation process on coercive control will consider whether further improvements can be made to the state’s laws.

“A criminal justice response is just one of the ways we can tackle the menace of coercive control,” he said.

The Epoch Times reached out to Relationships Australia WA for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.