Choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting

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This report is part of the Sentencing Spotlight series. These publications present statistics on sentencing outcomes for offences finalised in Queensland courts.

Our Sentencing Spotlight on choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting, defined under section 315A of the Criminal Code, provides insight into cases sentenced between July 2015 and June 2023.

This is our second Sentencing Spotlight on choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting. It updates the previous version published in May 2019 and has been revised and updated to present five additional years’ worth of data. The first Sentencing Spotlight on choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting can be accessed in the previous release section below.

Our research found:

• 1,971 offenders were sentenced on the new charge introduced in May 2016
• 1,818 cases where this was the most serious offence (MSO)
• 2,551 charges were prosecuted in total
• 98.3% of offenders were male
• 26.5% of sentenced offenders were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
• the average age of offenders was 32.5 years
• 98.7% of offenders received a custodial penalty
• 1.7%  of offenders pleaded not guilty
• the average imprisonment sentence imposed was 2.5 years
• 44.5% of these cases were co-sentenced with breach of a domestic violence order

Read the media release

Warning to readers:

Strangulation is a life-threatening assault. It is important that people who have experienced strangulation talk to their doctor, a health worker or a specialist medical service as soon as possible. If your life is in danger, call 000 (ambulance or police) or 131 444 for non-urgent police assistance. For further information about domestic and family violence support please visit https://www.qld.gov.au/community/getting-support-health-social-issue/support-victims-abuse/domestic-family-violence