Coercive control legislation goes before SA parliament as domestic violence services call for ‘urgent’ funding
South Australians would be banned from controlling their partner’s movements, finances and social activities under proposed new laws introduced to state parliament. While front line domestic violence organisations welcome the legislation, they say more funding is needed to respond to a record spike in calls for help.
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00:00For more than three decades, Claudia, not her real name, says her former partner controlled
00:08her life.
00:09Control, manipulation, sexual abuse, financial abuse, he took everything from me.
00:15It's experiences like hers the SA government wants outlawed.
00:20Coercive control is an insidious form of domestic violence that involves overwhelmingly males
00:26controlling many aspects of the lives of their partners.
00:29Proposed laws would ban people from controlling their partner in a way that would be likely
00:34to cause physical or psychological harm.
00:37The government says it would take about two years to implement the legislation.
00:41To make sure that police, that courts are educated about how to identify an offence
00:47of coercive control.
00:49While domestic violence services welcome the move, they say they're already stretched to
00:54capacity.
00:55In April, the domestic violence crisis line had the highest number of calls it had ever
00:58experienced.
00:59That then increased in June and then on July 1 we had the highest number.
01:04Mary Leaker says she's asked the government for just under $900,000 to help meet demand.
01:10We have written to the Premier to raise our urgent concerns about the pressure on our
01:15frontline services and at this stage we're yet to receive a response.
01:20I acknowledge the sector's concerns.
01:23We are in the midst of an incredibly important royal commission which we have asked to identify
01:31any gaps.
01:32In June, only 65% of calls to SA's domestic violence crisis line were answered.