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Comparing The Criminal Law And Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023

1273 Words6 Pages

The Criminal Law (Coercive Control and Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023: A Landmark Step in Combating Domestic Violence in Queensland. On March 6, 2024, the Queensland Parliament passed the Criminal Law (Coercive Control and Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023. This marks a significant milestone in the state's efforts to address the growing issue of domestic violence. This groundbreaking legislation, also known as "Hannah's Law," aims to tackle the serious and ongoing rise of domestic violence offences, with a particular focus on the insidious nature of coercive control. The Bill was introduced into Parliament on October 11, 2023, by the Honourable Shannon Fentiman, Minister for Health, …show more content…

Queensland is only the second state in Australia to legislate this offence, following New South Wales. Section 334A of the Criminal Code defines this behaviour broadly, and the legislative definition is prescribed in the offence under Section 334C. It is relevant to note that the new amendments cross-reference the definitions of domestic violence from the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act, under Section 334B of the Criminal Code. Affirmative Consent Another key aspect of the Bill is its focus on affirmative consent. The legislation aims to clarify the meaning of consent in sexual assault cases, emphasizing the importance of active, ongoing, and freely given consent. The Bill introduces provisions that require the prosecution to prove that the complainant did not consent to the sexual activity and that the accused person did not reasonably believe the complainant was consenting. This shift in the burden of proof places greater responsibility on the accused to ensure that consent is obtained and maintained throughout the sexual encounter. Specifically, the new laws define consent as a "free and voluntary agreement". They clarify that a person does not consent where they do not "say or do anything to communicate consent". This affirmative consent model means that agreement to each sexual act must be …show more content…

It represents a significant step forward in recognizing the complex and often subtle nature of domestic violence, particularly in cases of coercive control. However, the implementation of these new laws is not without its challenges. One of the primary concerns is the potential difficulty in proving coercive control in court, as it often involves a pattern of behaviour that may not be easily documented or witnessed by third parties. Additionally, there are concerns about the potential for misuse or overuse of the new coercive control offence, particularly in cases where the behaviour may not rise to the level of criminal conduct. It will be crucial for law enforcement and the judiciary to receive comprehensive training on recognizing and responding to coercive control in order to ensure that the new laws are applied fairly and

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673 Words | 3 Pages

This is seen as being effective as it is promoting the need to change existing sexual consent laws hopefully in order to achieve justice. This also highlight responsiveness of the government to responding to issues of the legal system regarding the NSW sexual consent laws. Another effectieve part of the legal system seen in this case is enforceability of the sexual consent laws. Although Mr Lazarus did undertake rape “without consent” he truly believed that Ms Mullins gave consent which according to the NSW sexual consent law stating that the accused must know the victim is not consenting is technically proof of enforceability of the law by Mr Lazard as he believed she gave consent. This case showed the effectiveness of protecting individual rights to a fair hearing as they allowed Mr Lazarus and Ms Millins to conduct a fair trial under section 24 of the Charter.

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1721 Words | 7 Pages

Court’s Opinion: The crime of rape is defined as follows: § 3121. Rape A person commits a felony of the first degree when he engages in sexual intercourse with another person not one’s spouse: (1) by forcible compulsion; (2) by threat of forcible compulsion that would prevent resistance by a person of reasonable resolution; (3) who is unconscious; or (4) who is so mentally deranged or deficient that such person is incapable of consent. The victim of a rape need not resist.

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1031 Words | 5 Pages

Changes have to be made for the future, police that is handling cases such as intimate violence should have a prompt response. The restraining order wouldn’t do any good if it isn’t enforced, the perpetrator should be return to police custody to guarantee the safety of the victim. Compensation can be used as a tool to discourage offenders from committing acts. Families and victims should be compensated for the grief that they were put through and the losses they may have had (Fattah & Peters,

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203 Words | 1 Pages

According to the Ontario Policing Standard Manual, the mandatory charge policy procedures should provide that in all domestic violence occurrences an officer is to lay a charge where there are reasonable grounds to do so (Johnson, 1996). The policy emphasizes that a decision to lay charges should not be influenced by the factors such as marital status/cohabitation of the parties, previous records, unwillingness to cooperate, and the concern about reprisal against the victim by the suspect (MacLeod, 1995). Some of the assumptions of the mandatory charge provide that the arrest of abusers in all cases, irrespective of victim preferences and knowledge is considered to be essential for safety, and charging is seen as essential to enforcing

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1252 Words | 6 Pages

In general, sexual assault is involuntary sexual contact that occurs through the actor's use of force, coercion or the victim's incapacitation. The law will consider the victim incapacitated if he or she did not have the mental ability to understand the nature of the sexual acts, or if the victim was physically incapable of indicating their unwillingness to participate in the sexual conduct. Common examples of these charges may arise

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502 Words | 3 Pages

In chapter 8 of Criminal Law of Today, the author describes the crime of assault, battery, mayhem, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and the crime of threat. The author identifies two types of common law assault and the types of injuries of a victim that are required in order to be considered crime of battery. The author also explains the difference between common law rape and modern statutes describing sexual assault. Although both crime of assault and crime of battery are nothing alike, they are often used together.

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199 Words | 1 Pages

Introduction Domestic violence is a pervasive and complex social problem that has an enormously detrimental impact on individuals, primarily women and children, throughout the entirety of Australia. The Labor Party has focused on this issue in chapter 9 of their national platform (Australian Labor Party, 2015). Recognizing the gross violation of gender equality that domestic violence represents, the Labor Party states that it’s eradication “must be a national priority”. The primary solution recommended by the Labor party is an integrated response that advocates change on a local, state and national level. The party plans to prioritize full implementation of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022, a

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Throughout, the years domestic violence was viewed as a family affair, and should only concern the family, but slowly laws have been passed to insure the safety of people that may fall victim. The United States followed after the European life-style of allowing men to beat their wife, and at the time referred as “men’s violence against their wife”. In the academic journal Legal Advocacy Against Domestic Violence by Barbara J. Hart she mentioned “In 1824 the Mississippi Supreme Court in Bradley v. State voiced approval of the husband's role as disciplinarian and stated its belief that the law should not disturb that role”(pg.3). As a result, numerous homes were open to domestic violence since it was viewed as a way to correct your wife of her wrong doings. Although, there was a solution at the time

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1221 Words | 5 Pages

This offence makes a person guilty if he intentionally touches another person sexually without their consent and the defendant does not reasonably believe that the victim consents. Sections 75 and 76 apply to an offence under this section. Sexual assault embodies a wide breadth of sexual acts carried out on a non-consenting participant, the definition is set in deliberately broad terms, which includes; Mere touching which can even amount to an offence if the touching was of clothing worn by the complainant. Pinching, slapping, kissing and touching naked genitalia and using naked organs to stroke, rub, press or touch. Defences to sexual assault under Section 3 of the SOA 2003 often include (but are not limited to)

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1331 Words | 6 Pages

House bill 3994 was written by Geanie Morrison who is the Representative of Victoria. She said, “The intent of this bill is to improve the protection of the minor girl and ensure the parental rights are protected”. The whole intention of this

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1208 Words | 5 Pages

To determine the effectiveness of no drop prosecution policies in stopping domestic violence, it is crucial to understand how no drop policies work, the role of the victim in the proceedings of a no drop prosecution trial, the role of the accused in a no drop prosecution trial and the overall comparison of no drop prosecution trials compared to other police policies and legislation in reference to domestic violence. In order to understand whether or not no-drop policies are effective, it is necessary to examine the basic information regarding these types of policies, determine what is involved in the process of no-drop cases and the effects that these cases have on both the legal system and the participants in the case. Generally defined,

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945 Words | 4 Pages

Maximum penalties that can be imposed by the judge are usually decided by parliament and outlined in the legislation that contains the offence such as the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), which limits judicial discretion to ensure fairness as consistency in sentencing is achieved. This is demonstrated in s59 of Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) as an offender found guilty of assault occasioning actual body harm is liable to 5 years imprisonment. To further encourage fairness, a judge can impose a lesser penalty when considering aggravating and mitigating factors prescribed in s21A of Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. Mitigating factors such as the offender showing remorse, was of good character or had no prior convictions render the offence less severe and are typically introduced by the defence. This is exemplified in McCartney v R 2009 NSWCCA, involving intoxicated non-consensual sexual activity which led to

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1514 Words | 7 Pages

However, his proposal does not consider the nature of sexual situations and the effect of desensitizing of sexual offences following his reform. The law should instead add an offence indicating the severity between the levels of rape/assault by penetration and sexual assault to include cases of sex from mistaken consent. Herring’s proposal reforming the current legal rule regarding consent emphasizes

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648 Words | 3 Pages

Kelley’s Big Heart Kelley was a child that listened to the teachings of showing kindness. She loved the idea of helping others and being nice. Ever since she was a little girl, she was kind to her siblings and family. Kelley was one of those people that a person would be rude to, but she would still be kind. Over the years, Kelley, at the age of twenty-six, still has not changed.

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1110 Words | 5 Pages

Consent can either always be recognised, never recognised or sometimes be recognised as a ground of justification. Consent always recognised is where if consent is given the accused can never be charged with that crime. The law should reflect the victim’s choice to consent as a legitimate excuse of individual autonomy. For example, property crimes with consent will not result in theft or malicious damage to property. Consent that is never recognised as defence is identified as ‘paternalism’.

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