26 September 2024
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:27): I rise to speak in favour of the criminal law consolidation amendment bill. The Greens believe that all people have a right to live free from harassment, fear, violence and abuse. Prevention of and protection from gender-based violence should be a core priority for any society. This bill deals with the issue of strangulation, suffocation and choking. It comes after a review into the effectiveness of the offence of strangulation in the Criminal Law Consolidation Act.
Strangulation, choking or suffocation are often present in domestic violence situations, and it is acknowledged that they can be a precursor to homicide. Current laws rely on case law where it must be proved that there is a restriction on breath. I understand that submissions from the Law Society on this bill note that there have been difficulties prosecuting strangulation offences under the current provisions. This bill takes on current health advice that there is also a danger where blood flow to the brain is restricted.
We know that women experience all forms of family violence, intimate partner violence and sexual violence at a much higher rate than men. While these reforms are beneficial to create an offence for such forms of domestic violence, the Greens want to see increased funding for programs related to the prevention of intimate partner violence. We need to stop these acts before they occur, not just deal with the offences afterwards. It is really important that there is public education around these sorts of behaviours and work done to try to effect cultural change within our communities.
The Greens are supportive of this bill. We do welcome the action that the government is taking in relation to domestic violence, but we also call on the government to go further in terms of really addressing the root causes of this kind of criminality within our behaviour, stamping out in particular misogyny and gendered violence.