Four strangulation charges laid each day a year after it was made an official offence

December 14, 2019

The staggering number has shocked the government, but there’s a warning the figures could get even worse.

It's been a year since new family violence offences were brought in and it's been revealed more than four charges of strangulation are being laid a day.

The staggering number has shocked the Government but there's warnings it could get worse as victims feel more confident coming forward.

Strangulation is often a precursor to being killed and new statistics show just how frequent it is.

The Under-Secretary for Domestic Violence Issues says the figures are sickening.

“I feel a little sick in my stomach to be honest, it's telling me there are hundreds and thousands of women in our country who are in danger,” says Jan Logie.

New family violence laws made strangulation a specific offence a year ago.


Within the first 11 days there were 30 strangulation charges. That jumped to 252 just two months later and in the first year over 1600.

Many of the cases are still making their way through the courts but 47 have resulted in convictions -the maximum penalty, seven years imprisonment.

And the Government is warning there'll likely be even more charges next year.


"A lot of people are taking it more seriously that there's a lot more conversation about it - we're breaking the silence about the severity of strangulation," says Natalie Thorburn of Womens Refuge.


And with more people coming forward needing help, the Government is signalling more money could be available to support groups.


The Government agreeing there's more work to do with a long-awaited family violence plan due out in the new year.

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