Animal abuse included in coercive control legislation
The Criminal Law Consolidation (Coercive Control) Bill was passed in the House of Representatives on 4 September.
The advocacy of the Society’s Animal Law Committee and President Marissa Mackie was mentioned in Parliament, particularly in relation to the protection of pets in the context of domestic violence.
The legislation includes reference to threats or harm to pets, and establishes that harm to pets can be an offence both for coercive control and animal abuse.
Ms Mackie recently made several media appearances to discuss the issue of animal abuse used as a form of domestic violence. She expressed the Society’s position, informed by the Animal Law Committee, that proposed coercive control legislation should explicitly refer to animal abuse as a form of coercive control.
In the Society’s view, the absence of a specific reference to animal abuse may make it more challenging to prosecute, as it would add an element of doubt about whether animal abuse should be considered a form of coercive control.
During debate in the Legislative Council on 21 August, the Society’s position the Coercive Control Bill was raised, and amendments were moved to include an example of making threats to an animal as a form of controlling behaviour that can restrict a person's freedom of action.
In previous submissions to Parliament, the Society noted the well-established link between animal abuse and coercive control. In the experience of practitioners who have informed the Society’s advocacy, some domestic violence perpetrators use animal abuse as a means of intimidating, harming, and controlling human victims, particularly where the pet is a source of companionship and support for the victim. Victims are often reluctant to leave domestic violence situations out of concern for the pets’ welfare, leaving them in a vulnerable position, as they are at risk of suffering further abuse.
During the debate, MPs also raised some of the Society’s observations about the possible difficulties in prosecuting coercive control given the practical challenges of proving patterns of behaviour, and suggested that significant training should be provided to all sectors of the justice system, including police, prosecutors, and the judiciary.