Tougher penalties needed for domestic violence perpetrators

That approach may, for example, avoid the argument in cases like the Baden-Clay tragedy. Is a distinction between manslaughter and murder appropriate in the case of killings committed within families? Should there be a separate charge of, for example, "Homicide of a spouse" that carries penalties analogous to those for murder?

Mr Strofield speaks of the domestic violence court holding people accountable for their behaviour and how perpetrators have seen the error of their ways.

We need to build on that. Over the decades community attitudes have re-defined how we regard drink-driving and smoking. Now the community is uniting in its disgust over coward punches. We need to apply that same mindset toward domestic violence.

A change in legislation would legitimise the growing number of voices that condemn this violence whilst also sending a strong message to the rest of Australia that such action is shameful and completely unacceptable.

Public condemnation of domestic violence could be a powerful weapon in defeating this scourge. The fact that this method was successfully and swiftly implemented to deal with coward punch issues bodes well for similar effectiveness for Domestic Violence. So why hasn't it been suggested?

The domestic violence court trials on the Gold Coast will be traversed in a report due to be handed to the state Government before Christmas. The trial is scheduled to run until mid-2017.

Sadly domestic violence in all its forms is an Australia-wide epidemic and need a nationwide response. I believe the same hardline stance against DV must be employed against those who sexually assault children. These are behaviours society must comprehensively reject.