On the third day of the NSW parliamentary inquiry into coercive control, religious leaders said the issue of what is considered a 'normal' relationship across different religions must be explored.
Religious values can be"misused" to justify abuse, an advisor for Anglicare Sydney has told a state parliamentary inquiry into coercive control.
She noted the specific challenges and impacts for predominantly women from different religious and cultural backgrounds. “It is often a process that happens slowly over time and can be nuanced in nature, making it difficult to identify,” it says. “The cumulative effect over time robs victim-survivors of their autonomy and independence as an individual.” according to the paperAlso appearing on Wednesday where representatives from the St Vincent de Paul Society, Catholic Women's League Australia and the Australian Brotherhood of Fathers.
"There is a need for clear guidelines, as in a multicultural society, many customs and religions hold disparate values, some of which may be seen as coercion," she told the inquiry. Ms Dunstan agreed, saying Anglicare would like to see better avenues for victims-survivors to disclose their"bigger picture".
"I think the key elements are fear, intimidation and lack of capacity for autonomous decision making. I certainly don’t feel that that is justified in our religious context by any religious teaching or understanding," she said. But Miss Pereira repeated some religions or cultures"may have a certain level of normal behaviour" considered"outside" one's own.
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