Unintended Consequences: Mandatory Sentencing and the Reporting of Domestic Violence
Monday 10 March 2014 @ 11.03 a.m. | Crime
The NSW Government’s proposed alcohol-related crimes reforms are facing renewed criticism from groups concerned about potential flow-on impacts on the reporting of domestic violence. Critics say that mandatory sentencing for assaults committed under the influence of alcohol will have unanticipated effects on violence in the less visible private sphere. They fear that introducing mandatory sentencing will lead to victims becoming more reluctant to lay charges and testify in domestic violence cases - for both emotional and economic reasons.
Phillip Boulten, president of the NSW Bar Association has expressed his concerns in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), saying:
"If people must receive a minimum of two years for domestic violence style assaults, it won't take long before the victims will become reluctant to complain or will be reluctant to co-operate with the prosecution… If they thought their breadwinner was going to be in prison for two years they would pause before saying anything to anybody about their plight."
Although recently attention has been focused on assaults in public streets and clubs, domestic violence is an ongoing and complex problem. Recent figures from the SMH show that last year in NSW alone, 24 women were killed in domestic-related incidents, and 42% of all homicides are domestic. It is also widely accepted that domestic abuse is under-reported.
Possible Amendments
The Labor Party is proposing to introduce its own series of amendments to the O’Farrell government’s mandatory sentencing laws, including a provision allowing judges to be able to ignore minimum sentences in some cases. Currently, the legislation is reported to be supported in the upper house by the Shooters and Fishers Party, who oppose mandatory sentencing, and the Greens, who consider it a ‘lesser evil’.
Ongoing Developments
Family Community and Services Minister Pru Goward is currently chairing a new taskforce that examines the effectiveness of current sentencing options for domestic violence offenders. The taskforce includes MPs and experts from groups such as Domestic Violence NSW and the NSW Rape Crisis Centre.
Other proposed changes to laws that affect the victims of domestic violence are also being considered by Parliament. Laws that amend the defence of provocation to murder have also been widely critiqued. University of NSW professor Julie Stubbs said in the SMH that the proposed legislation:
"did not accept recommendations for an amendment that specifically considered domestic violence in murder cases, removed the requirement for juries to consider the perspective of the killer, and only allowed the provocation defence in cases where the deceased had committed a serious indictable offence…. These three things are going to be really damaging for battered women."
The Christian Democrats leader, Fred Nile, who introduced the bill, responded to concerns by stating that:
"the bill strikes a careful and appropriate balance between restricting the defence and leaving it available for victims of extreme provocation, including victims of long term abuse."
TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products.
