by: Angela Skujins
Last week, South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman tabled draft legislation to abolish the provocation defence – known otherwise as the ‘gay panic’ defence. The AG has tabled draft legislation for the abolition of the provocation defence from South Australian law, and stakeholders have been invited to offer feedback over the Parliamentary winter break.
This move comes as a result of the South Australian Law Reform Institute’s investigation into “legislative or regulatory discrimination against individuals and families on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or intersex status,” which began in 2015 under then-Attorney-General John Rau.
SALRI, through this investigation, identified the ‘gay panic’ defence as meeting that definition.
Provocation is a ‘partial defence’, which allows South Australian courts to demote a murder conviction to manslaughter, if the defendant can prove they were provoked to violence by an unwanted homosexual advance.
This defence isn’t enshrined in law, but is a precedent set by other High Court cases where the provocation defence has been allowed. Read more via City Mag