By Jessica Incledon, Criminal Lawyer at Gnech and Associates
22 July 2022
There’s no doubt that much has been said recently about coercive control and coercive control behaviours. But what does this term actually mean, and is it a criminal offence?
Here in Queensland, there is no single legal definition of coercive control, but it involves behaviours designed to control another person in a domestic relationship.
It could include behaviours such as:
- Humiliation and threats
- Degrading put downs
- Gaslighting
- Limiting access to money
- Monitoring movements
- Gradual isolation from friends and family
- Micromanagement
- Using technology and social media to control and manipulate
Currently, coercive and controlling behaviours are already recognised as ‘domestic violence’ under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012. This means that such behaviours can be used as the basis to obtain a domestic violence protection order against the perpetrator of the behaviours.
However, under current Queensland law, coercive control is not a standalone criminal offence. This means that a person cannot be criminally prosecuted for coercive control unless it is in breach of a domestic violence protection order.
This could be set to change following the announcement of the Queensland Government to introduce new legislation criminalising coercive control. The announcement follows the release of the ‘Hear Her Voice’’ report by the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.
The creation of a standalone criminal offence of coercive control would allow coercive control to be criminally prosecuted in the first instance.
We are yet to see how coercive control will be defined in the legislation, and what the threshold will be for distinguishing an abusive relationship from a dysfunctional relationship.
It is anticipated The Queensland Government will introduce the legislation before the end of 2023.
If you require advice in regard to domestic violence matters please call Gnech & Associates on 3558 1040.
