Women’s Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) congratulates Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on her Government’s historic action to establish a taskforce that will consider making coercive control an offence and more broadly, the criminal justice system’s response to victims of domestic, family and sexual violence.
Lead by client experience, for many years WLSQ has called for an end-to-end review of Queensland’s response to domestic, family, and sexual violence that grant victims a voice. The Service commends the Queensland Government for leading the way in Australia by establishing this taskforce.
The appointment of The Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC, Former President of the Queensland Court of Appeal and WLSQ Patron to lead the taskforce is welcomed by the Service.
WLSQ CEO, Angela Lynch commends the Government for their decisive action to listen to survivors,
“Our clients have been telling us that when they make the brave decision to report violence, the criminal justice system is letting them down. Women tell us they are being dismissed and they are being re-traumatised.”
“We hope a carefully considered coercive control offence will hold violent offenders accountable, while educating the community on this insidious form of violence.”
“Implementing this taskforce is a historic step that we hope will identify how Queensland can do better.”
“The Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC is an esteemed jurist and has dedicated her life to advancing women in the law and supporting agencies and programs that address domestic violence in the community. We are proud of her long association and support for our Service and look forward to working with her in this new capacity.”
“We look forward to contributing to the process to make our criminal justice system more responsive and safer for women.”