Ahead of their time? The offences of economic and emotional abuse in Tasmania, Australia

Abstract

More than a decade before the offences of controlling or coercive behaviour and domestic abuse were introduced in England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland, the parliament of Tasmania in Australia enacted the offences of economic abuse and emotional abuse of a person’s spouse or partner. The introduction of these novel provisions constituted a significant move away from criminal law conceptions of family violence that relied solely upon physical acts and, instead, recognised that the infliction of psychological and economic harm were core features of that violence. This chapter analyses the Tasmanian offences, identifying difficulties in their construction and exploring the reasons for their slow uptake. Analysis of prosecutions that have occurred reveals interesting patterns of offending starting to emerge that have implications for how the offences are prosecuted and how family violence is understood.