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Despite hundreds of recorded instances, the new domestic violence offence of coercive control has only resulted in a handful of charges since it was first criminalised.
NSW was the first Australian jurisdiction to make coercive control an offence when landmark legislation passed state parliament in 2022, and the laws came into force on 1 July 2024.
The laws apply when a person uses abusive behaviours against a current or former intimate partner with the intent of controlling or coercing them.
NSW Police have recorded 297 incidents of coercive control in the year since the laws came into effect. They laid charges on nine occasions, according to a report released on Friday by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
The median time between a police report and a coercive control charge was about four months.
This was driven partially by the “incredibly high” legal threshold to lay a coercive control charge, Domestic Violence NSW senior policy and advocacy officer Angie Gehle said.
“Victim-survivors are finding it really hard to get that evidence together,” Gehle told the Australian Associated Press.
Requiring an offender to demonstrate intent to coerce or control their partner can be difficult when they might not realise their behaviour is causing harm.
Because the law does not apply to behaviour before July 2024, it can be difficult to establish a “pattern” of coercive control in the year since it came into effect.
The charges are also yet to be tested by the courts.
While three coercive control charges have been finalised in court, they were withdrawn by the prosecution on two occasions, with the defendant pleading guilty in the third case.
“We’re still in a state of unknown,” NSW crime statistics bureau executive director Jackie Fitzgerald told AAP.
The small number of charges since the laws were introduced reflects the “complexity of investigating and prosecuting” coercive control, says Jackie Fitzgerald, executive director of the NSW crime statistics bureau. Source: AAP / Steven Markham
“The small number of charges highlights the complexity of investigating and prosecuting this form of abuse,” Fitzgerald said.
Women accounted for 94 per cent of all recorded coercive control victims, with 92 per cent of incidents involving a female victim and male alleged offender, the report found.
Rates of coercive control in regional NSW were about twice as high as in greater Sydney, which follows the same pattern as other domestic violence offences.
The data has been taken as a sign that awareness of coercive control is increasing, prompting more victims to come forward.
Gehle has urged the government to offer greater resources for frontline services so they can meet the demand.
Domestic Violence NSW has also called for the offence to be applied to family and other types of relationships beyond intimate partners.
Queensland was the second state to criminalise coercive control after its laws came into effect in May, while South Australia and Western Australia are expected to follow suit.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
