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<p>Traditionally, mainstream criminal law discourse has associated domestic violence most closely with physical violence. Feminist jurisprudential approaches, however, have long emphasised coercion and non-physical abuse in domestic violence. The term “coercive control”, developed by Evan Stark in his clinical practice, has led to a growing public and political sentiment that coercive controlling behaviour was an under-recognised precursor to intimate partner violence with associated gaps in the criminal, civil and family law statutes. A stand-alone criminal offence of coercive control was introduced in Queensland, Australia, in 2023. The paper analyses the new offence provisions against a formal rule of law framework, arguing that the offence as drafted offends well-established rule of law principles. It will lead to ambiguity, uncertainty and unpredictability around what does and does not constitute coercive control within a particular relationship and abrogates key evidentiary safeguards that protect an accused’s right to a fair trial. These issues raise important and unanswered questions around how to ensure that the law captures serious instances of coercive control without criminalising behaviour that is fundamentally not criminal.</p>

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Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence Through a New Offence of Coercive Control? The Queensland Experience

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月18日

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  • Brooke Thompson,
  • Rebecca Fogerty

摘要

Traditionally, mainstream criminal law discourse has associated domestic violence most closely with physical violence. Feminist jurisprudential approaches, however, have long emphasised coercion and non-physical abuse in domestic violence. The term “coercive control”, developed by Evan Stark in his clinical practice, has led to a growing public and political sentiment that coercive controlling behaviour was an under-recognised precursor to intimate partner violence with associated gaps in the criminal, civil and family law statutes. A stand-alone criminal offence of coercive control was introduced in Queensland, Australia, in 2023. The paper analyses the new offence provisions against a formal rule of law framework, arguing that the offence as drafted offends well-established rule of law principles. It will lead to ambiguity, uncertainty and unpredictability around what does and does not constitute coercive control within a particular relationship and abrogates key evidentiary safeguards that protect an accused’s right to a fair trial. These issues raise important and unanswered questions around how to ensure that the law captures serious instances of coercive control without criminalising behaviour that is fundamentally not criminal.