The offence of coercive control is now a crime in QLD

A pattern of controlling behaviour in relationships will become a crime in Queensland after new passed state parliament.

Transcript

00:00 Alison Baden Clay, Hannah Clark and her children. Lives taken by horrific acts of domestic violence.

00:10 Now their legacies have been enshrined in Queensland law.

00:13 On behalf of Hannah, Aaliyah, Liana and Trey, we welcome Queensland making the pursuit of

00:21 justice against coercive control possible.

00:24 Back in 2012, there was no conversation around domestic and family violence.

00:30 And my family have been on a journey to ensure that the conversation is highlighted.

00:36 Coercive control will become a criminal offence from next year.

00:39 It aims to capture a pattern of controlling and isolating behaviour within a relationship.

00:46 Violence is not always visible.

00:48 You don't have to hit to hurt people.

00:51 Sophia survived 17 years of coercive control by her ex-husband.

00:56 He isolated her from friends and family and controlled her job, money and clothes.

01:02 Who I saw, who I called, where I went, what I ate and even if I did shopping, how long

01:10 I went to shop for.

01:12 Sophia has welcomed the new laws, but she's concerned coercive control will be hard to prove.

01:18 I looked back at it and I thought even if it was law then, could we prove it?

01:24 You will need to make sure that our prosecutors and our police are well set up to gather that evidence.

01:30 Awareness and education programs will be rolled out before the offence takes effect.

01:35 To know that the loss of our family will save other lives, you know, it doesn't make it

01:41 better, but it helps.

01:43 The Queensland Parliament also passed other significant law changes, including introducing

01:49 an affirmative consent model, which will require that a person says or does something to ascertain

01:56 consent.

01:57 The exceptions to Queensland's double jeopardy laws will also be expanded.

02:02 It means people could be retried for offences such as manslaughter and rape if fresh and

02:08 compelling evidence comes to light, and it's in the interest of justice.

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