The Greens have accused the government for dragging its heels on adopting a coroner's recommendation to legislate for non-fatal strangulation.
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Coroner Olivia McTaggart highlighted that non-fatal strangulation was a risk factor for subsequent homicide in her report on the death of Jodi Eaton in 2014.
Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said every Australian state except Tasmania had specific laws in place to deal with the matter or were moving to enact them.
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She said at present, strangulation fell anywhere between common assault and grievous bodily harm within the state's Criminal Code.
"But the issue is that it is up to victims to prove to police, and therefore the courts, that they were strangled," she said.
"Sometimes there is no physical evidence of the crime being committed so this is leaving women vulnerable."
Greens candidate for Rosevears Jack Davenport said the legislation would not only better help women and children but workers employed to help protect them.
"We're not just talking about an assault, we're talking in the context of coersion, control and abuse," he said.
"That's why it's really important to have a specific law to manage and deal with this problem." Attorney-General Elise Archer said the Sentencing Advisory Council had been asked to investigate whether penalties for non-fatal strangulation could be strengthened.
"Tasmania's criminal law framework contains offences which may capture acts of non-fatal strangulation, choking or suffocation," she said.
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