Victim-survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Forced to Participate in Crimes: Some Thoughts on the Potential Application of Discrimination Law

Abstract

This article examines the legal position of victim-survivors who offend under coercion from intimate partner violence. It considers whether the unavailability of the defences of compulsion and necessity as a result of the courts' interpretation of those defences in New Zealand constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex. This article adds to the broader literature raising questions about the capacity of discrimination law (as it is currently conceived) to address sex inequality, particularly as it intersects with other forms of inequality based on class and race.