Victims of family violence will be given a new voice under the Hodgman Liberal Government, as part of our ongoing efforts to stop the cycle of violence against women.
Last year, the Government announced a $26 million Family Violence Action Plan to address this scourge, but there is more to do.
Today in Parliament, the Government will table the Crimes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2016.
The Bill includes an important amendment to the Sentencing Act 1997 that will extend the rights of victims of family violence to provide details of the effect of offences on them to all courts.
In Tasmania, the legal right of victims to provide details of the impact of a perpetrator’s offending on them has been limited to matters that are heard in the Supreme Court. However, the majority of family violence offenders are dealt with in the Magistrates Court, where charges such as common assault and breach of family violence orders are routinely heard.
This amendment gives victims of family violence a legal right to provide victim impact statements to the sentencing court outlining the effects of the offence including injury, loss and damage suffered as a direct consequence of the offence.
These changes reflect modern community standards and the expectation that victims of family violence have a voice in the sentencing process.
In addition to this Amendment Bill, the Government will also soon be releasing detail around how we intend to further strengthen the legislative frameworks to hold perpetrators of family violence to account and to improve the safety of victims of family violence.
The Government is currently examining further potential amendments to the Family Violence Act 2004 to make perpetrators more accountable in the family violence system and to provide for a more appropriate mechanism to monitor and manage dangerous family violence offenders post-release.
We are also examining other necessary legal reforms to enhance the safety of victims of family violence, including changes to facilitate the recording and admissibility of victim statements at the ‘crime scene’.