To punish or not to punish? Dealing with death or serious injury of a child or vulnerable adult

Abstract

This article examines the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims (Amendment) Act 2012, and how it has further developed the law in order to punish offenders where there are multiple defendants, and it is clear one of them caused death or serious physical harm to a child or vulnerable adult. Having considered how the 2012 Amendment Act developed the law from the position under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, the article also explores what the 2004 Act failed to address. Some of the terminology used in the 2004 Act is problematic and was not considered by the 2012 Amendment Act. This article considers that terminology in further detail before asserting that, despite it remaining as problematic, the 2012 Amendment Act has still made an important step forward in the law, and has bridged a gap to ensure more guilty defendants are punished.