Canberra Liberals leader Leanne Castley's plea for coercive control legislation is personal

ABC NEWS (Australia)

For the leader of the Canberra liberals the push to criminalise coercive control in the act has always been personal. Growing up Leanne Castley watched the insidious form of abuse strip power, freedom and confidence from the two women closest to her. She wants to see legislative change and quickly. And while those on the frontline of the fight against family violence do too their support is dependent on criminalisation being coupled with comprehensive education and training.

Transcript

00:01This video contains content that may be confronting.

00:07This trip down memory lane is tainted with pain for Leanne Casley,

00:13but perhaps even more so for her mum Lorraine.

00:17It's awful to watch someone you love go through pain like that

00:22and then it has an impact on your confidence

00:25and the ability to love anyone again.

00:28She's never been in a long-term relationship with anyone since then.

00:32She still lives on her own and that's lonely.

00:35Lorraine endured years of abuse at the hands of her second husband.

00:39Leanne was barely a teenager.

00:41He drank a lot and was violent. It was awful.

00:46Still Lorraine stuck it out.

00:48The stigma of another failed marriage weighing heavily until...

00:52One night he came home and it was just on for young and old

00:55and he threatened my brother for the first time

00:58and that's when mum said, that's it, we've got to go.

01:01Leanne's Aunty Lou is also a survivor of unimaginable trauma.

01:05This was Aunty Lou's husband. He was the bad fella.

01:08Her third husband controlled her every move,

01:11isolating her from family and friends.

01:14And then it got to the point where there was no way we could sort of get her alone

01:19and she was just stuck in this relationship

01:22and I didn't know until years later that he would put sleeping tablets in her coffee at night time

01:30and rape her at night.

01:32It was with her mum and auntie in mind that Leanne offered the assembly a raw and rare insight into her childhood.

01:40Those experiences explain why Leanne is now such a fierce advocate for victims of family violence

01:47and the need to criminalise coercive control.

01:51We've got to take action sooner rather than later.

01:53How many more people need to die?

01:55Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour used to entrap someone in a relationship.

02:00It can include manipulation, isolation, monitoring and financial control

02:06as well as intimidation and constant criticism.

02:10It's harmful on its own but is also a factor in almost all intimate partner homicides.

02:17Our frontline officers are responding to 11 family violence incidents every day.

02:21The current legal framework means police only have the power to arrest and charge a perpetrator

02:27if there's evidence of physical violence.

02:30Criminalising coercive control would change that.

02:33If the person was able to articulate those experiences, those coercive control behaviours

02:38to the point where they met the legislation under this new proposal

02:42then we would be able to actually arrest and prosecute that person with the coercive control itself

02:48as opposed to the violence that might arise from it.

02:53It's a move the force is backing even though it's likely to increase their workload.

02:58Absolutely because family violence and domestic violence thrives in silence as they say

03:02and the most powerful thing we can do as a community is to speak up

03:05and we want people to speak up and shine that light really brightly on the issue.

03:11The ACT government had been resistant to the question of criminalisation

03:17but in March indicated a newfound openness to the prospect.

03:21The Legislative Assembly passed a motion making a commitment to legislate on coercive control

03:27but not going so far as to say it will become a standalone offence.

03:32A key consideration will be the effectiveness of coercive control laws in other jurisdictions

03:38including New South Wales and Queensland.

03:41How would you describe the ACT government's progress on this topic?

03:46I would call it a little bit frustratingly slow.

03:49Frances Crimmins heads up YWCA Canberra, a support organisation for women and girls.

03:55Its specialist domestic violence team works directly with victims.

04:00In 90% of cases, coercive control is a factor.

04:05One woman has recently described to her case manager

04:10that she is controlled in all aspects of her life.

04:14When she can use the telephone, when she can leave the house,

04:18how long she can shower, her sleep is monitored

04:22and if she doesn't meet any of these targets set for her, she's punished.

04:27Frances says the current laws are failing victims.

04:31Women are being murdered.

04:33Coercive control is present in 95% of those cases.

04:37This is why we need to start taking action now.

04:40There is some work underway.

04:43Intimidation. Monitoring. Financial control.

04:46A coercive control education campaign started last month

04:51and a progress report on plans for legislative change is due by September.

04:56Another critical piece of the puzzle will be police training.

05:01Given the complexity of the crime type

05:04and the type of investigation that would be required

05:08and the nuance of that crime type,

05:10it's going to be really important that police are appropriately trained in it as well.

05:13Family violence expert Hayley Boxall cautiously supports criminalisation

05:18but warns against seeing it as the entire solution.

05:22It's a very symbolic gesture, I think, to kind of go,

05:25no, coercive control is as detrimental as other forms of domestic and family violence

05:30that we have criminalised previously.

05:33And so I think it is very much about trying to keep the legislation up to date.

05:38Even if it doesn't end up with an immediate prosecution,

05:42it's given a woman confidence to come forward.

05:45and police the power to act.

05:55If you or anyone you know was affected by this video,

05:58please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732.

06:07And this is the video part.

06:08How much does this come to date?

06:09We have a place where we will go.

06:10How much does this happen?

06:11How much does this happen?

06:13There is a place where we are.

06:14All right.

06:15I think it's so much about that.

06:16We'll see you there.

06:17I think it's very much about it and it's very interesting.

06:18So we can take a look at Luke's house.

06:19We're going to use.

06:20We are going to take a look at Luke's house.

06:21You're going to take a look at Luke's house until the beginning.

06:23I think the rooms and the rooms for us are going to start.

06:26And if it is hopefully not enough,

06:28I'll take a look at Luke's house.

06:30There's not even the room.

06:32I think we're going to play this.

06:33I'm going to throw this into place.

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