The NSW government’s proposed laws will make it much harder for the most serious offenders to inflict harm. But there are other protections it can and must deploy.
The Minns government has announced a suite of changes to NSW bail laws – making it much harder for those accused of serious domestic violence offences to get bail, and ensuring that if they do, they are subject to electronicBut they are also entirely justified – as a response to the unacceptable levels of violence currently experienced by NSW women and children. Too many women currently die at the hands of intimate partners.
Red flags of this kind are not always predictive of bad outcomes. But they are pretty reliable indicators of increased risk. Magistrates, therefore, should always be required to consider them in family violence matters.perpetrator with red flags – including in the context of applications for an apprehended domestic violence order , not just the prosecution of a criminal offence.
Second, greater perpetrator and victim support. Support of this kind means psychological support, and assistance in dealing with mental illness, substance abuse and intergenerational trauma. For some offenders, being released on bail should also involve a requirement of both an ankle bracelethave highlighted this week, alcohol is a big part of the current family violence crisis in NSW – on some account, up to 65 per cent of the problem.
The government is live to the problem of stalking, and has made welcome changes to laws criminalising this kind of individual tracking. But it needs to do more to guard against the risk of police access – both in fairness to perpetrators and victims. Indeed, without these safeguards, many victims –especially First Nations and culturally and linguistically diverse women – may be unwilling to rely on the protections offered by electronic monitoring.
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