The flip side of coercive control laws for Aboriginal women
Coercive control is one of the most insidious forms of domestic abuse.
The Domestic Violence Death Review Team found 99% of intimate partner homicides were preceded by coercive and controlling behaviour.
Last week a parliamentary committee in NSW reached a unanimous agreement to make coercive control a criminal offence, a decision which marks a movement away from interpretations of domestic abuse as characterised by single incidents of physical violence toward a pattern of controlling and abusive behaviour.
The news comes as a victory for those in the domestic violence sector who have been calling for laws on coercive control for decades. But there are concerns from Indigenous groups that the legislation designed to help victims of domestic violence may have the opposite effect.
Coordinator for Warringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre, Christine Robinson, joined us on the daily to discuss the concerns.
