When Trauma Meets the Law and Why Complex PTSD Matters in Sentencing

Courts across Australia are increasingly recognising the role that trauma plays in shaping behaviour. A recent case I was involved in demonstrates how psychological evidence can influence sentencing when a person is suffering from Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Court accepted that her mental health conditions met the Verdins Principles and should therefore reduce her degree of moral culpability.

A Case that Demonstrates How Trauma Shapes Behaviour

A young woman was found guilty of an assault that unfolded during a sudden and highly distressing confrontation. Psychological assessments confirmed that she had Complex PTSD as well as major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety and long standing trauma related personality vulnerabilities. These disorders were not new and did not suddenly appear at the time of the offending. They developed through years of instability, childhood adversity, interpersonal trauma, and significant recent loss.

The defence argued that her mental health difficulties were not simply background information. They directly influenced how she perceived the situation, how quickly she felt threatened, and how her nervous system reacted under stress.

The Court agreed.

In accepting the Verdins Principles, the Magistrate found that her psychological conditions:

• reduced her capacity to judge the situation clearly• impaired her ability to remain calm and regulate her emotions• made her behaviour more reactive and driven by fear rather than reasoning• created a causal link between her trauma condition and her offending behaviour

Her conduct remained unlawful but the Court recognised that trauma significantly shaped her perception of threat and control at the time of the incident. That recognition matters because it informs fairer sentencing and more appropriate avenues for rehabilitation.

PTSD and Complex PTSD are Not the Same Condition

PTSD generally develops from a single traumatic event such as an accident or assault.

Complex PTSD occurs when trauma is repeated over many years. It often appears in people who experience childhood abuse, domestic violence, repeated losses or emotionally unstable environments.

The key differences are:

PTSD	Complex PTSD
Usually linked to one traumatic event	Linked to trauma that is prolonged and repeated
Fear based symptoms such as avoidance and hyperarousal	Affects a person’s identity sense of self and relationships
May respond well to short term trauma focused therapy	Requires long term relational therapy such as DBT and EMDR
Symptoms mostly tied to the memory of the event	Symptoms affect everyday behaviour emotional control and attachment

People with Complex PTSD often react extremely rapidly to perceived danger. Their brains have been trained by past trauma to respond as if the threat is happening again right now. The behaviour can seem sudden and intense from the outside but internally it feels like survival.

Why Verdins Matters for Trauma Informed Sentencing

Under Verdins, mental impairment must be considered when it:

1. reduces moral culpability

2. affects a person’s judgement and self control

3. makes imprisonment significantly more harsh or delays rehabilitation

All three points applied in this case.

Complex PTSD did not excuse the behaviour but it provided a clinically grounded explanation for it. Instead of punishment alone the focus shifted to treatment, safety planning, and preventing future harm.

A Justice System that Understands Trauma is a More Humane System

This decision illustrates progress. Courts are listening to the science. They are recognising that trauma changes the nervous system and changes the way a person interprets threat and safety.

Justice becomes stronger when it acknowledges the person behind the behaviour.

When trauma survivors are given treatment rather than further traumatisation we see improved rehabilitation lower risk and a healthier community.