A prominent Illawarra advocate has told an inquiry into coercive control that criminalisation of this behaviour is vital for women's safety and health.
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Addressing the parliamentary committee this week, Illawarra Women's Health Centre general manager Sally Stevenson said coercive control had real and sometimes catastrophic impacts on victim-survivors and their children.
She said she wondered what other behaviours that caused such harm were debated and delayed in such a way, drawing parallels to NSW's 'coward punch' laws in the wake of one-punch deaths.
"Certainly, we should be discussing how we enact this law, what critical protections, exemptions and processes must be in place, especially for Aboriginal women and children: how - not whether," Ms Stevenson said.
Coercive control is a form of domestic violence, a pattern of psychologically abusive and controlling behaviours used to isolate, belittle and strip a person of their autonomy.
Ms Stevenson told the committee that victim-survivors wanted coercive control criminalised.
"Firstly, it tells society that this behaviour is not acceptable. That there are consequences. That if you are a perpetrator you will be held to account," she said.
But more importantly, Ms Stevenson said, it empowered those suffering such abuse to understand their experiences, and hopefully escape it.
She told the committee any legislation had to include special protections co-designed with Aboriginal women to recognise their "brutal relationship" with the criminal justice system.
"If we get it right for Aboriginal women, we get it right in principle for all women," she said.
Ms Stevenson told the Illawarra Mercury she was optimistic that the committee was taking into account the arguments she and other witnesses made.
Her appearance at the inquiry followed the NSW government's rejection of Shellharbour MP Anna Watson's proposed legislation to criminalise coercive control earlier this month.
The parliamentary committee is due to report on its inquiry by the end of June.
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