Launch of the Non-fatal Strangulation Review

The Queensland Government has asked the Queensland Law Reform Commission to examine and make recommendations about the offence of ‘Choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting’ in section 315A of the Criminal Code, and applicable procedural rules and practices.

Join the Queensland Law Reform Commission (QLRC) in partnership with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW) for a live webinar panel discussion and Q&A to explore issues in the review of section 315A of the Queensland Criminal Code (the non-fatal strangulation offence) and help shape the review’s direction.  

Chair Fleur Kingham will lead a conversation with our interdisciplinary panel of experts in criminal law and non-fatal strangulation. Topics include:

• how the offence should be defined
• potential reasons for delay or failure of prosecution
• the issue of consent
• whether the offence should be confined to domestic relationships

Betty Taylor AM (Founder of the Red Rose Foundation) talks to victim-survivors about their experiences with the offence and the criminal justice system. 

This webinar will be interactive with opportunity for you to ask questions or make comments.

The members of the interdisciplinary panel are:

QLRC Chair Fleur Kingham

Fleur Kingham was appointed as Chair of the Queensland Law Reform Commission in April 2023. Chair Kingham has a distinguished judicial career including President of the Land Court of Queensland, Deputy President of the Land and Resources Tribunal, the first Deputy President of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Judge of the District Court of Queensland. Chair Kingham is also the immediate past-President of the Australian Association of Women Judges and will lead the conversation with our interdisciplinary panel of experts in criminal law and non-fatal strangulation.

Professor Heather Douglas AM

Heather Douglas AM is a leading expert on the legal response to domestic and family violence, with expertise in criminal law and procedure. She is a chief investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. She was co-chief investigator on the ARC Discovery Project, The Non-fatal Strangulation Offence as a Response to Domestic Violence. For this project, Professor Douglas examined issues including proof of non-fatal strangulation, prosecuting non-fatal strangulation and case outcomes, women’s stories of non-fatal strangulation, complainant withdrawal, and issues raised by domestic and family violence support workers.

Dr Leah Sharman 

Leah Sharman is an ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award Fellow researching social and emotional health and decision-making among victim-survivors of domestic and family violence. She was a postdoctoral research fellow on The Non-fatal Strangulation Offence as a Response to Domestic Violence. Her role involved a review of Queensland domestic violence deaths where strangulation was involved in the relationship or death, interviews with victim/survivors and DV service workers regarding non-fatal strangulation, understanding medical evidence assisting non-fatal strangulation prosecution and researching the prevalence and attitudes of sexual strangulation among young people.

Thelma Schwartz 

Thelma Schwartz is the Principal Legal Officer of the Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation providing legal and non-legal support services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and survivors of family violence and sexual assault. Thelma is the current co-chair of the Queensland Justice Policy Partnership Cross Agency Working Group, a member of the Queensland Human Rights Commission & Queensland Police Services Advisory Panel into the review of inclusion and diversity in the QPS. She is also a member of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council and is the current Panel Chair for Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Panel. Thelma was previously a member of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce. Thelma has practiced for over 25 years in the Northern Territory and Queensland and has worked extensively with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, providing legal services and legal representation as a criminal defence solicitor with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service for over nine years. Thelma identifies as of Torres Strait Islander heritage alongside her German/Samoan and Papua New Guinean heritage. 

Commissioner Glen Cranny

Glen Cranny has practiced as a solicitor since 1995 and is a leading author in the areas of criminal law and disciplinary investigations in Queensland. He was a member of the Queensland Law Society’s inaugural criminal law specialist accreditation committee and was the Chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee from 2008 to 2014. Doyle’s guide has listed Mr Cranny as a preeminent criminal defence lawyer in Queensland (2015-2024) and Australia (2017-2024). He is currently a part-time commissioner of the Queensland Law Reform Commission and the Director at Gilshenan & Luton.