Rapists could face life sentences and lawyers would be prevented from asking humiliating questions of victim-survivors under a suite of pre-election commitments designed to reduce violence against women.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll is promising a significant overhaul of family and sexual violence laws if Labor can secure a fourth straight term at the November election.
The planned changes also include legislating a new offence for perpetrators who abandon a victim in medical need, inspired by the deaths of Victorian women Narelle Simmons and Belinda Jones.
State Coroner Judge Liberty Sanger recommended consideration of the reform, with the Victorian government declaring it was ready to crack down on "legal loopholes".
In another Australian first, Labor intends to legislate a new form of manslaughter to include cases where someone has taken their life due to family violence.
Other promised reforms include a maximum penalty of life in prison for rape, increasing the maximum for serious sexual offences by five years and upping the standard sentence for murder of a current or former partner from 25 years to 30.
The state government also plans to change the law to let courts consider patterns of sexual abuse as evidence at trial and stop barristers using "humiliating and invasive questioning techniques" in court.
"I'm sick of Victoria's courts and defence barristers putting victims on trial," Mr Carroll told reporters on Sunday.
The maximum penalty for persistent family violence intervention order breaches would also be doubled to 10 years' jail under Labor's pitch.
"I'm a tough-on-crime premier - and that means being tough on family and sexual violence," Mr Carroll said.
The latest Victorian crime statistics showed there were 42 homicide and related offences connected to family violence in the 12 months to the end of March.
Breaches of family violence orders fell slightly year-on-year from 64,586 to 64,047 but have risen from 54,118 in 2022.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson agreed there was "work to be done" on supporting victim-survivors in navigating the justice system.
"We're certainly very open to looking at these reforms," she told reporters on Sunday, adding care must be taken to ensure any reforms are appropriate.
She made the remarks while announcing the opposition's $150 million pledge to build three new select-entry high schools and transition six government schools to select or partial select-entry.
Ms Wilson said the new schools would be built in areas of high and unmet demand before 2030, including in Melbourne's west, north and southeast.
“Every Victorian student deserves the opportunity to reach for their full potential, no matter where they live," she said.
Ms Wilson also pushed back on Mr Carroll's claim the plan would run over budget, saying it was independently costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office.
"It's no surprise that the premier doesn't know how to manage money," she said.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
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