On Monday, the NSW government announced plans for a so-called Right to Ask scheme. The plan is intended to enable women to check if their partners have a criminal history involving domestic violence.
“There are simply too many heartbreaking stories of women and men being seriously hurt or murdered in circumstances where the perpetrators had a history of prior domestic and violent criminal offences that they didn’t know about,” Mr Perrottet said in a press release.
The detail provided by the government is not exhaustive at this stage. They have said, however, that the scheme is based on Clare’s Law in the UK.
Clare’s Law was rolled out in 2014 after a campaign by the father of Clare Wood, who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend in 2009. It enables anyone, regardless of gender or sexuality, to check the domestic violence history of their partner if they believe they may be at risk. Close friends of the person potentially at risk may also check their friend’s partner’s history.
UK police also have the right to proactively share information about someone with a history of DV with their current partner.
The NSW government say they will facilitate online applications from people at risk. They say there will be criminal penalties for “malicious” applications.
Also on Monday, the Perrottet government announced a further $20 million for electronic monitoring of violent offenders living in the community. They are also promoting the “affirmative consent” laws they introduced in 2021, which require a person to “take steps” to ensure they have consent.
With a state election in two months’ time, the NSW Liberals have clearly learned from the rebuke issued to the Morrison government in 2022 on consent and violence against women and are seeking to make up for lost time.
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