The State Government will move to tackle a weakness in South Australia’s domestic violence laws, to ensure perpetrators who strangle a partner or family member face the full force of the law.
A review of the current laws found that too many cases of strangulation were being discontinued, and there was a lack of clarity around what was needed for police and prosecutors to prove the offence in court.
Following the review, the Government consulted on proposed reforms, and is set to introduce changes that would clarify and broaden the definition of ‘strangulation’ to now mean applying pressure to a person’s neck to an extent that it could affect a person’s breath, or flow of blood to the head.
There will also be a new second offence introduced with higher penalties, where choking renders an individual unconscious – punishable by up to ten years in prison.
The tough new domestic violence reforms will be introduced when Parliament resumes later this month.