Strangulation, choking and suffocation in DV situations now a crime in NT as new laws pass

Domestic violence abusers who choke, strangle or suffocate their victims in the NT could spend up to five years in jail, after the Territory became the latest jurisdiction to make it a crime.

DOMESTIC violence abusers who choke, strangle or suffocate their victims in the NT could spend up to five years in jail, after the Territory became the latest jurisdiction to make it a specific crime.

The NT Parliament, in its final sitting of the term, passed new laws that would make non-lethal strangulation, choking or suffocation in a domestic setting an offence.

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Attorney-General Natasha Fyles said the new offence would ensure the behaviour “is treated seriously as a form of domestic violence”.

Queensland made strangulation, choking or suffocation in a domestic setting a crime in 2016, and an independent advisory council report found nearly 500 prosecutions were made in three years.

The maximum sentence in the Northern Territory is five years and seven in Queensland, though the research in that state found the average sentence worked out to be 1.9 years.

“We will always put victims first,” Ms Fyles said.

Attorney-General Natasha Fyles Picture: Che Chorley

“This is about making sure we can help stop domestic violence from occurring in the first place.” The creation of the offence was part of a larger justice bill to increase safety for victims and hold defendants more accountable.

The government aims to set up a specialised domestic violence court in Alice Springs, with the new laws also targeted at increasing the number of DV offenders that take up rehabilitation programs where appropriate.

Amendments passed yesterday will also allow tenancy agreements to be terminated under a domestic violence order, to ensure “safe living arrangements”.

“This bill brings our justice legislation into the modern era, acknowledging the impacts of domestic violence on families and our community and recognising the importance of rehabilitation to prevent future offences from occurring,” Ms Fyles said.

The bill, which is part of the 10-year Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Framework, comes a day after the NT Parliament changed archaic laws, which did not allow sexual assault survivors to tell their story in the media using their real name without a court order.