SUBMISSION Legal Affairs and Safety Committee (Qld): Response to the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022
This submission provides input on the second consultation draft of the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (“the draft Bill”). ANROWS’s submission draws on our body of research and our previous submissions on legislative responses to domestic and family violence (DFV) and coercive control.
ANROWS’s submission commends the efforts made to strengthen existing legislation in Queensland to address DFV. ANROWS outlines our support for broader systemic reform to support victims and survivors of DFV, which includes both legislative and non-legislative reform. The submission focuses on the following key elements of the draft Bill:
- The introduction of a definition of DFV that captures it as a “pattern of behaviour” rather than isolated incidents
- A focus on identifying and supporting the safety of the person most in need of protection in the case of cross-applications and cross-orders
- Amendments to the Evidence Act 1977 (Qld) that allow for victims and survivors to be treated as protected persons for the purposes of cross-examination, lift restrictions on the types of evidence on the history of domestic violence that are permitted in court, and allow for expert evidence and jury directions to address stereotypes and misconceptions around DFV.
This is ANROWS’s second submission regarding the development of the draft Bill. Our submission on the first draft is available here: Department of Justice and Attorney General (QLD): Feedback on the consultation draft of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022
Suggested citation
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. (2022). Response to the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 [Submission]. ANROWS.