Under existing laws, children are considered witnesses, not victims, in many family violence cases, but a proposed new law in Victoria would change that.
The Victorian leader of Derryn Hinch's Justice Party will meet Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes today to discuss creating a new offence — family violence in the presence of a child.Derryn Hinch's Justice Party Victorian leader Stuart Grimley is calling for government action to address itWestern Victoria MP Stuart Grimley moved a motion in state parliament yesterday asking the government to create the new offence to fill a "legislation gap".
"The current sentencing framework for family violence in Victoria clearly isn't working and certainly does not place enough emphasis on the profound effects that it has on children," Mr Grimley said. Under existing laws, children can be covered by family violence intervention orders, but not all family violence incidents involve intervention orders.Crime Statistics Agency data shows almost 80 per cent of children who witness a police-reported family violence incident have a future interaction with the justice system within five years.Family violence offences increased by 18 per cent in the year to June 30, 2021, according to the data, with more than 174,000 incidents reported.
"We are calling on the government to start looking at extra measures they can take to reduce that horrendous figure."Mr Grimley proposes the new offence of "family violence in the presence of a child" be introduced to the Summary Offences Act, with a two-year maximum imprisonment.
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