Greens welcome the adoption by the Senate of the bill initiated by Senator Vincent P. Martin to protect victims of coercive control. This cross-party Bill titled “Domestic Violence (Amendment) (No. 2) 2024” has successfully passed the second stage. This Bill proposes to extend to victims of coercive control the same protection when they appear in court that applies under section 34 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 to people who appear in court for a breach of security, interdict and other orders under the Domestic Violence Act 2018.
Currently, people who appear in court to testify as potential victims of coercive control are treated differently. Indeed, the restrictions on who can be present in courtrooms do not apply to legal proceedings concerning the crime of coercive control, nor does the ban on publication or broadcasting apply.
“The purpose of this legislative proposal is to protect the right to privacy of a victim of coercive control. The proposal provides for a sort of “closed door” rule for cases of coercive control, as applies already in the operation of family law proceedings. The Bill is passed and will hopefully prevent some victims of coercive control from being deterred from seeking protection from the courts,” said Senator Martin.
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