Canberra 13 Aug, Canberra : Canberra, Aug 13 : Australian government has opted to implement a national plan to weed out coercive controls.Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus on Friday met with his counterparts from the states and territories of Australia and New Zealand to discuss strengthening the criminal justice response to sexual assault.
In a statement released on Saturday, Dreyfus said the meeting approved a draft proposal for national guidelines on coercive control.
Coercive control is one of the forms of domestic abuse used to gain power or control over an individual.
“These principles – the first of their kind are a significant step in the direction of an understanding of the nation’s shared values of coercive controls,” Dreyfus stated.
This understanding shared is essential for a greater understanding of the community and will be a crucial instrument in improving the security of women and their children he said.
The meeting on Friday came just following 2021.Australian of the Year Grace Tame urged the governments to improve the lives of survivors of sexual assault in the criminal justice system as well as harmonize and better define laws pertaining to sexual assault.
It also approved a five-year plan to improve the response of the justice system to abuse.
“The Attorney-General’s Department and the Australian Institute of Criminology will examine the definitions of consent as well as the broader definitions of child sexual abuse and sexual assault,” Dreyfus said.
“This will include laws with regard to consent and theft which have been the subject of recent demands for change from advocacy groups.”
