A reform paper, released today by the Territory Labor Government, sets out a raft of legislative and systemic proposals that aim to improve the justice system response to domestic and family violence (DFV).
The Review of Legislation and the Justice Response to Domestic and Family Violence in the Northern Territory: Proposals for Consultation recommends measures to improve the safety of DFV victim-survivors, and increase the accountability of offenders.
A common feature of DFV is coercive control, although this factor is currently not adequately recognised in law or justice responses. The review recognises this as a form of abuse and offers a range of options to improve the justice response to coercive control, including whether it should be a criminal offence.
The review paper also proposes other legislative and systemic reforms to modernise DFV legislation, and improve interagency coordination.
Proposed legislative reforms for consultation include:
provisions to reduce the misidentification of persons most in need of protection;requiring bail decision-makers to consider the risk of DFV;simplifying consent procedures for body worn camera evidence;introducing mandatory orders to attend DFV programs as part of a Domestic Violence Order; andintroducing jury directions, and allowing expert evidence on DFV.
Proposed systemic reforms for consultation include:
a coercive control community education program;changes to police procedures and training to incorporate a more contemporary understanding of DFV and coercive control;establishing a 24-hour specialist DFV related service and managed police referral of DFV victims;expansion of, and inter-agency oversight for, DFV perpetrator programs; andcreating a systemic DFV death review process.
Available online here here, comments on the review will inform the legislative program going forward including a Domestic and Family Violence Reform Bill in 2023; and the new Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Interagency Co-ordination and Reform Office’s agenda over the coming year.
Service providers, lawyers, DFV experts and those with lived experience of domestic and family violence are encouraged to provide feedback. Targeted consultation with stakeholders will be undertaken over the next six weeks.
The review is part of the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence (DFSV) Reduction Framework 2018-2028: Safe, Respected and Free from Violence and builds on previous work including consultations, research, and reforms in other jurisdictions.
Quotes attributable to Minister for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Kate Worden:
“The Territory Labor Government is prioritising domestic, family and sexual violence reform because too many women have been harmed, and too many lives have been lost.
“The immediate harm and generational trauma caused by domestic and family violence is a shameful blight that casts a dark shadow right across the Territory. It has to change.
“We know this is a mammoth task that will require all hands on deck, but we are up to the job. Our Government has already secured a record investment towards the prevention of domestic and family violence and these reforms are the next step on our quest for a better, safer Territory.”
Quotes attributable to Attorney General and Minister for Justice Chansey Paech:
“Our Government acknowledges the high rate of violence throughout the NT, and this review is an integral part of the reform process to reduce domestic and family violence.
“Interagency coordination is the key to improving the safety of victim-survivors and holding offenders to account for their conduct, including coercive control.
“Proposals outlined in this review paper are a roadmap towards a modernised legal and justice system that will help to reduce domestic and family violence.”
