tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/royal-commission-into-family-violence-15247/articlesRoyal Commission into Family Violence – The Conversation2019-05-27T19:45:21Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1176592019-05-27T19:45:21Z2019-05-27T19:45:21ZLet’s make it mandatory to teach respectful relationships in every Australian school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/276531/original/file-20190527-40038-154xzy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Victorian government is rolling out respectful relationships education in primary and secondary schools across the state.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Media <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-22/young-people-do-not-understand-texting-can-be-abuse-report-finds/11133602">reports of findings</a> from the latest <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/research-program/ncas/">National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey</a> caused a stir in recent days, with some highlighting the importance of education programs to teach young people about gender-based violence.</p>
<p>The survey of young people, aged 16-24, revealed some <a href="https://ncas.anrows.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/300419_NCAS_Summary_Report.pdf">concerning findings</a>. Nearly one-quarter of respondents agreed that women tend to exaggerate the problem of male violence. One in seven said women often make false allegations of sexual assault. One in eight weren’t aware non-consensual sex in marriage is a criminal offence.</p>
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<p>But the 2017 survey also showed positive shifts in young people’s understanding of family violence compared to the survey in 2013. Young people showed an increase in their understanding of the different forms of violence against women and more respondents endorsed gender equality.</p>
<p>Schools play a significant role in educating young people about gender-based violence and helping change the underlying attitudes that lead to it.</p>
<p>The Victorian government <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victoria-leading-the-way-on-respectful-relationships/">began a rollout</a> of respectful relationships education in primary and secondary schools in 2016. This is a whole-of-school program that aims not only to develop students’ gender awareness and respect but also to transform school cultures to be more gender-inclusive.</p>
<p>An evaluation of the program in secondary schools <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/getmedia/634efd9c-dd7d-4e66-ba2c-5dc4780cff2f/RREiS_R3_Final_AA.pdf.aspx">found positive results</a>. One principal told researchers:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There were male teachers in positions of authority [who] used aggression as their method to get what they wanted. That just became unacceptable.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>History of gender-based violence education</h2>
<p>Schools have long played a significant role in teaching students respect and equity. Social and moral learning is embedded in the <a href="http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf">Melbourne Declaration</a>, a 2008 document that sets out the agreed national goals of schooling. These values are <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au">also embedded</a> in national and state curricula.</p>
<p>More than 25 years ago, the federal education department was <a href="http://www.awe.asn.au/drupal/sites/default/files/Ollis%20Gender%20Based%20Violence%20Programs.pdf">commissioned to develop</a> a position on gender-based violence education. This led to the development of “No Fear” – a teaching resource and whole-of-school approach to addressing the attitudes and behaviours that underpin gender-based violence.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-education-about-gender-and-sexuality-does-belong-in-the-classroom-102902">Why education about gender and sexuality does belong in the classroom</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Researchers in the mid-1990s <a href="http://library2.deakin.edu.au/search%7ES1?/aClark%2C+Louis+H/aclark+louis+h/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/frameset&FF=aclark+m&1%2C1%2C">highlighted the high levels</a> of <a href="https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/3061402">sexual harassment in schools</a>, including early childhood settings. Others pointed to the <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.460.4402&rep=rep1&type=pdf">broader gender equity</a> and <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8207490?q&versionId=46664076">structural inequalities</a> that impact girls’ options after leaving school. </p>
<p>All of this led to a high visibility and resourcing of gender (and other) equity reforms across Australian schools. By the late 1990s, however, anti-feminist backlash and government funding cuts led to a <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/la/book/9780230517011">policy vacuum</a> in this space.</p>
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<iframe title="Summary findings from the 2017 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS)" aria-label="Table" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Lt8zw/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="384"></iframe>
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<h2>Respectful relationships education</h2>
<p>Governments have recently renewed efforts to address gender-based violence in schools through what is now referred to as <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/capabilities/personal/Pages/respectfulrel.aspx">respectful relationships education</a>.</p>
<p>This kind of education is included in the Australian Curriculum but not all state and territory governments have been proactive in making it mandatory. Victoria’s 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">respectful relationships education</a> be mandatory in every school from prep to Year 12. </p>
<p>The program is now being <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/capabilities/personal/Pages/respectfulrelschools.aspx">rolled out in more</a> than 1,000 government, Catholic and independent schools in Victoria.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/respectful-relationships-education-isnt-about-activating-a-gender-war-67296">Respectful relationships education isn't about activating a gender war</a>
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</em>
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<p>Respectful relationships education seeks to prevent violence before it occurs. This is fostered through supporting schools to challenge and find alternatives to the rigid gender roles that support gender inequality and lead to violence against women. It encourages schools to examine gender in terms of:</p>
<ul>
<li>staffing (is there gender disparity in leadership positions, teaching responsibilities and extracurricular activities?)</li>
<li>school culture (does the school have an inclusive and welcoming climate?)</li>
<li>professional learning (are teachers provided with adequate and ongoing support to teach about gender, identity, power and violence?)</li>
<li>support (are schools well-equipped to deal with disclosures of violence?)</li>
<li>teaching and learning (how do curriculum and pedagogy foster students’ critical awareness of gender, power, identity and violence?)</li>
<li>community connections (how are schools working with their broader community, including families, local services and sporting clubs, to challenge rigid gender norms?).</li>
</ul>
<p>Research conducted by the not-for-profit foundation working to prevent violence against women and children <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/Who-We-Are">OurWatch</a>, and Deakin and Swinburne universities, has <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/getmedia/634efd9c-dd7d-4e66-ba2c-5dc4780cff2f/RREiS_R3_Final_AA.pdf.aspx">highlighted the potential</a> of this model to change attitudes and school structures. Students expressed thoughtful and informed views about gendered violence following their participation in the program. </p>
<p>One student said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>People think sexual assault is about sex, but it’s about power […] It’s about a sense of entitlement.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it’s a good idea to have this sort of program in more schools. It’ll stop the system; boys growing up thinking that they should be the more dominant person in the relationship and learning this now might stop that and make it less of a problem.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Teachers and school leaders also relayed positive accounts of the program’s impact. One teacher observed students were now more respectful of each other. </p>
<p>Another said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Respectful relationships education develops an understanding of the links between the language the students use with each other and how that leads to situations where women are not treated equally, undervalued or misrepresented.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>There are still hurdles</h2>
<p>Teachers, leaders and students have generally welcomed respectful relationships education. But there are still many challenges to ensuring the program is embedded in primary and secondary schools. These <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29850904">include</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>addressing misinformation, resistance and backlash – for example that respectful relationships education is about “gender engineering” or that it alienates and shames boys and men</li>
<li>acknowledging the complexities of violence against women as intersecting with poverty, Indigeneity, ethnicity, culture, and disability, among other factors</li>
<li>adequate funding to support ongoing professional learning for school leaders and teachers in relation to implementing a whole-school approach</li>
<li>supporting schools to work with and educate families</li>
<li>supporting schools to better respond to disclosures and violence-related trauma.</li>
</ul>
<p>Schools are not a panacea for transforming the ills of society. Ending violence against women will require major and far-reaching social change. The history of respectful relationships or gender-based violence education indicates schools can play a significant role in this process.</p>
<p>But it is clear short-term, inadequately funded approaches do little to recognise the complexity of change and the time it takes to bring an education community to a common understanding, awareness and commitment to change.</p>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: this article previously referred to the not-for-profit foundation working to prevent violence against women and children, OurWatch, as a charity. This has now been corrected.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117659/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Keddie is currently conducting research in affiliation with the national organisation OurWatch. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Debbie Ollis is currently conducting research in affiliation with the national organisation OurWatch. She has been involved in the Victorian government's rollout of the respective relationships program in a consultant and research capacity. She has also been involved in the design, teaching and implementation of respectful relationships education in Victoria across the education sector for over 25 years. </span></em></p>Nearly one-quarter of young people surveyed said women exaggerated claims of sexual assault. This is only one reason why education on underlying values that lead to violence against women matters.Amanda Keddie, Professor, Education, Deakin UniversityDebbie Ollis, Associate Professor, Education, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/868302017-11-21T19:27:43Z2017-11-21T19:27:43ZDo we need a new offence to protect victims of family violence from psychological harm?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195354/original/file-20171120-18528-177v53j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The offence of controlling or coercive behaviour is distinctive because it protects victims from psychological abuse.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Liberal National Party <a href="https://www.betterqueensland.org.au/domestic-violence-action-plan">has promised</a> that if it wins the upcoming Queensland election it will introduce a “standalone” domestic violence offence for non-violent offenders who had shown a <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/new-domestic-violence-offence-under-lnp/news-story/bf6362aa9faa1bab5c311986a6be195b">pattern of psychologically controlling behaviour</a>. The new offence would also prohibit emotional and financial abuse.</p>
<p>The Queensland offence would be modelled on the English offence of <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/9/section/76/enacted">“controlling or coercive behaviour</a>”. A similar law is also being considered by the <a href="http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/103883.aspx">Scottish parliament</a>. However, not all key players in the Australian criminal justice system favour following their lead.</p>
<p>A Queensland government <a href="https://www.communities.qld.gov.au/gateway/end-domestic-family-violence/about/not-now-not-ever-report">taskforce</a>, the <a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/family-violence-national-legal-response-alrc-report-114">Australian Law Reform Commission</a> (ALRC), and Victoria’s <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> (RCFV) have recommended against introducing a specific family violence offence. </p>
<p>The Australian Law Reform Commission concluded it would be too difficult to define what behaviours should be captured, and the Royal Commission into Family Violence found there was not enough evidence to suggest new laws were necessary.</p>
<h2>The English offence of controlling or coercive behaviour</h2>
<p>The offence of controlling or coercive behaviour came into effect in England and Wales in late December 2015. </p>
<p>It criminalises <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHyCSG5Ath8">controlling or coercive behaviour</a>: that is, behaviour that causes a victim to fear violence will be used against them on at least two occasions, or that causes them serious alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse effect on their day-to-day activities. </p>
<p>The offence is restricted to those in an intimate or family relationship.</p>
<p>Just how the new law operates is illustrated in the case of <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/controlling-boyfriend-who-refused-partner-9195512">Graham O’Shea</a>. O’Shea was charged with controlling or coercive conduct in relation to his girlfriend.</p>
<p>He had been in a relationship with the victim for six weeks. He moved into her house and imposed several restrictions. He didn’t allow her to wash. He obtained her bank card and restricted her to an allowance of £10 per week. He refused to let her visit family and would escort her to and from the bus stop when she went to work. He also assaulted her on two occasions.</p>
<p>The victim eventually went to her father’s house and contacted the police. O’Shea was charged with controlling or coercive behaviour, stood trial, and was convicted. He was sentenced to four years’ jail.</p>
<p>O’Shea’s case is just one of more than <a href="http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed181541">4,000 incidents</a> of controlling or coercive behaviour recorded by police in England since the new offence was introduced. </p>
<h2>What is psychological harm?</h2>
<p>The offence of controlling or coercive behaviour is distinctive because it protects victims from psychological abuse.</p>
<p>Research with women who have been victims of this type of family violence confirms just how negative and severe the consequences can be. Psychological abuse has been linked to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10810951">anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder</a> in victims.</p>
<p>Australian law does not readily criminalise psychological abuse. However, there are some exceptions. </p>
<p>It is indirectly criminalised when a court issues a protection order, intervention order or similar to protect a victim of family violence. If the respondent breaches the order by engaging in prohibited conduct (which can include some forms of psychological abuse), they have committed a criminal offence.</p>
<p>Stalking laws also criminalise some forms of psychological abuse by prohibiting conduct that can cause mental or psychological harm to another person. These laws are commonly used to protect women who have been stalked by ex-partners, but are not used if the couple was still living together at the time.</p>
<p>So, psychological abuse of intimate partners is a public health problem. And it is not well-regulated by the law. But is it an issue that the criminal law should concern itself with?</p>
<h2>Does Australia need a new family violence offence?</h2>
<p>On November 24, at an event hosted by Deakin University’s School of Law, key criminal justice stakeholders – prosecutors, defence lawyers, police, representatives of victims of family violence, and academics – will consider whether existing laws prohibiting family violence are adequate and whether a new law based on the English offence is required. </p>
<p>This roundtable will debate the adequacy of existing Australian criminal justice responses to family violence and consider new initiatives to reduce that violence. Particular issues include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>the adequacy of existing laws to regulate family violence;</p></li>
<li><p>whether a new offence similar to “controlling or coercive behaviour” should be introduced in Australia; and</p></li>
<li><p>the possibility of using stalking laws against family violence offenders who are still in a relationship.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>There are important questions that need to be answered, like how far should the criminal law reach into private lives, how we define “psychological abuse” and “controlling or coercive” behaviour, and when a “normal” argument between partners becomes a crime.</p>
<p>The aim of the roundtable – with people who have a shared goal of reducing family violence but unique perspectives about how – is to move one step closer to answering these questions.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86830/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Psychological abuse of intimate partners is a public health problem, and is not well-regulated by the law.Marilyn McMahon, Associate Professor in Law, Deakin UniversityDr Paul McGorrery, PhD Candidate in Criminal Law, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/859652017-10-19T22:16:59Z2017-10-19T22:16:59ZVictorian courts should expand their supervision of family violence offenders<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190912/original/file-20171018-32361-cugfgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Victoria’s Sentencing Advisory Council has recommended increasing the judicial monitoring of family violence offenders.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Darren England</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Victoria’s Sentencing Advisory Council <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/publications/swift-certain-and-fair-approaches-sentencing-family-violence-offenders">has recommended</a> the state not introduce a <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-victoria-introduce-a-swifter-model-of-sentencing-family-violence-offenders-72570">“swift, certain and fair”</a> approach to sentencing and managing family violence offenders.</p>
<p>A swift, certain and fair approach is a specific type of criminal justice program developed in the US. It usually targets offenders who are serving their sentence in the community, and requires criminal justice agencies to respond quickly to any non-compliance with fixed sanctions. This is usually a couple of days in custody. </p>
<p>These approaches have been received and adopted in some jurisdictions with great enthusiasm. However, that enthusiasm may not be backed by evidence.</p>
<h2>What did the council find?</h2>
<p>Victoria’s <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> recommended that the <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/">Sentencing Advisory Council</a> report on the desirability of swift, certain and fair approaches to sentencing and managing family violence offenders. The council found overwhelming opposition to the idea, for several reasons.</p>
<p>First, the evidence in relation to the effectiveness of such programs is uncertain. There is both <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/crime-all-stars/2016/09/hope-ii-a-follow-up-to-hawaiis-hope-evaluation-2457394.html">positive</a> and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/capp.2016.15.issue-4/issuetoc">negative</a> evidence about whether they can work well with offenders who have substance abuse issues. And there is no direct evidence that they are effective for family violence offenders.</p>
<p>In addition to these programs being untested for family violence offenders, they are also untested in Australia. There is currently a similar program <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjz55br0LfWAhVFlJQKHVPKBM8QFgg4MAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewsroom.nt.gov.au%2Fapi%2Fattachment%2FById%2F10287&usg=AFQjCNG9ELsp6EM9PieB9nPwnIqqNJpNMA">being piloted</a> in the Northern Territory. However, that program has more of a rehabilitative focus: participants are required to spend three months in a residential rehabilitation facility before starting on the program.</p>
<p>The second reason the council has recommended against a swift, certain and fair approach is that there is a risk it could increase, rather than decrease, the risk to victim-survivors of family violence.</p>
<p>In particular, there is a risk that a family violence offender could blame the victim if they had to spend a few days in custody, especially if it was the victim who had brought the breaching behaviour to the attention of criminal justice officials.</p>
<p>Third, both Victoria Police and Corrections Victoria have emphasised that in the current system there would be little-to-no capacity to hold family violence offenders in custody for short stints.</p>
<p>Fourth, swift, certain and fair approaches in general were considered incompatible with the right to procedural fairness. </p>
<p>In programs elsewhere, offenders serve their time in custody before the breach hearing is brought before a judge (to ensure the response is swift). But defendants in Victoria have a right to prepare a defence before being placed in custody. A swift, certain and fair approach would not give them that opportunity.</p>
<p>Finally, the council was concerned about the possibility that a swift, certain and fair approach would have a disproportionate effect on disadvantaged groups in society. </p>
<p>In particular, there was a risk it could negatively affect:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>low-risk offenders, by interfering with positive factors such as their employment and education;</p></li>
<li><p>Indigenous offenders, for whom short periods of custody may pose a more acute risk;</p></li>
<li><p>female offenders, who are more likely to have primary carer responsibilities; and</p></li>
<li><p>offenders with cognitive disabilities, who may have difficulties understanding and meeting the demands of certain conditions.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Alternative recommendations</h2>
<p>The Sentencing Advisory Council made several alternative recommendations that would better achieve the broader principles of swiftness, certainty and fairness.</p>
<p>First, in 2015, the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria started <a href="https://www.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au/practice-directions-publications/practice-directions-2015">fast-tracking criminal proceedings</a> against family violence offenders, so that their case would be heard within a few months. Generally, this fast-tracking does not extend to family violence offenders who breached the conditions of their <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/about-sentencing/sentencing-options-for-adults/community-correction-order">community correction orders</a>.</p>
<p>Noting that the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court is already trialling the fast-tracking of breach offences of such orders, the council has recommended these breach offences be fast-tracked alongside other family violence offences.</p>
<p>Second, although traditionally the judge or magistrate’s role ends after the sentencing hearing, there is <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1037969X1604100402">growing evidence</a> that the judiciary might be an untapped resource in managing family violence offenders in the community.</p>
<p>Research suggests that if the sentencing magistrate stays involved in the management of that offender in the community, offenders are more likely to comply with the conditions of their sentence and less likely to reoffend. </p>
<p>This supervision not only makes the offender feel accountable because the eyes of the court are on them, but also that they are being treated fairly because they are seeing the same magistrate or judge each time. Offenders who feel like they are being treated fairly are, in turn, more likely to comply with the conditions placed on them.</p>
<p>The council has therefore recommended increasing the judicial monitoring of family violence offenders.</p>
<p>As part of that recommendation, the Council has suggested that corrections officers should be able to send an offender to a judicial monitoring hearing if they think there is an increase in the risk of family violence.</p>
<p>For example, an offender’s risk level might have increased if divorce or custody proceedings have started, or if the corrections officer has received concerning information about the offender from a men’s behaviour change program.</p>
<p>Finally, the council has recommended that the increased use of judicial monitoring should be supported by sufficient resources, training, and evaluation.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul McGorrery is a Senior Legal Policy Officer at the Sentencing Advisory Council in Victoria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arie Freiberg has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the Criminology Research Council, the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. He is Chair of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council.</span></em></p>The enthusiasm around swift, certain and fair approaches to sentencing offenders may not be backed by evidence.Dr Paul McGorrery, PhD Candidate in Criminal Law, Deakin UniversityArie Freiberg, Emeritus Professor of Law, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/783982017-07-03T01:47:14Z2017-07-03T01:47:14ZLong ignored, adolescent family violence needs our attention<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172111/original/file-20170604-20605-w26kkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Adolescent family violence has detrimental effects on the health and wellbeing of families, and is surrounded by stigma and shame.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/victoria-leads-the-way-on-family-violence-but-canberra-needs-to-lift-its-game-74036">Family violence</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-could-alleviate-its-youth-justice-crisis-by-importing-the-right-ideas-from-the-us-74535">youth justice</a> have been subjected to an intense focus in Australia in the past year. Reviews have revealed the failure to provide effective responses to these issues. Government responses to family violence have emphasised the importance of perpetrator accountability, while in the youth justice field recent reforms have seen a toughening of legal responses.</p>
<p><a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/investigating-adolescent-family-violence/">Adolescent family violence</a> has implications in both of these areas. However, it has been the subject of limited inquiry.</p>
<p>Adolescent family violence is violence used by young people against family members. Most often, it refers to violence occurring within the home. </p>
<p>It is distinct because the adolescent requires ongoing care even when violent, which mean responses used in other cases of family violence can’t readily be applied. It has detrimental effects on the health and wellbeing of families, and is surrounded by stigma and shame.</p>
<h2>Extent and impact</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/family-violence-data-portal/family-violence-data-dashboard/childrens-court">Data from the Melbourne Children’s Court</a> show that between July 2011 and June 2016, there were 6,228 applications made for a family violence intervention order where the respondent was 17 years or younger. There were 4,379 cases involving a male adolescent, and 1,849 cases involving a female adolescent.</p>
<p>In 45 cases, the respondent was aged ten-to-11-years-old. In more than half the cases, the affected family member was the female parent of the adolescent.</p>
<p>Existing <a href="https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/briefing-paper-1-general.pdf">international</a> and <a href="http://www.dvrcv.org.au/knowledge-centre/our-blog/coordinated-response-adolescent-violence-home">Australian</a> research suggests that adolescent family violence is largely unreported. Consequently, rates of recorded adolescent family violence are likely to underestimate its extent. There are complex reasons for reluctance to report. They include parental shame and self-blame, fear of consequences for the adolescent, and an inability to locate an appropriate service.</p>
<p>Our research into adolescent family violence, which includes <a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/research-recruitment-have-you-experienced-adolescent-family-violence/">an anonymous open survey</a> of those affected, reveals a wide range of abusive behaviours. These extend well beyond physical violence and include coercive and controlling behaviours, property damage, and economic abuse.</p>
<p>One participant described:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Having doors broken in my home either through continuous banging, punching or throwing bricks through the glass. Having a teenager scream and yell at me, swear and belittle me. Being spat on. Having a teenager stand over me and using threatening behaviour to get what he wanted such as money or other items of value.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The effects are severe. People described “walking on eggshells” in their own homes, experiences of depression and stress, and social isolation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t invite people into my home because of the damage and because my home environment is very unpredictable. I have lost a lot of confidence in my abilities and feel like a failure as a parent. I don’t get much sleep as I am constantly worried for my son’s wellbeing.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Recognising vulnerability and complex needs</h2>
<p>Adolescents who use violence in the home often have complex needs and may have experienced family violence themselves. Parents described their adolescents as suffering from substance abuse problems, depression and anxiety, and mental health and intellectual disability disorders.</p>
<p>As one parent described:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My 13-year-old son had major depression and anxiety combined with poly substance abuse. Whenever we tried to challenge him even slightly about his drug use or general behaviour, he would get extremely angry – acting in a threatening manner by standing over us and yelling, hurling abuse and saying horrible derogatory things about us, punching holes in walls, slamming doors until they broke.</p>
<p>All of this was very traumatic and sometimes quite terrifying.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another recognised her son’s needs, but struggled with the impacts:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My son is 13. He has Asperger’s Syndrome and experiences overwhelming sensory overload with his body flooded with adrenalin. He deals with this by fight or flight, the default being fight. Mostly this involves lashing out with his fists, but he has attempted to use weapons, such as a knife. This only happens when he is overloaded but is frightening nonetheless.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The criminal justice system is not the answer</h2>
<p>Recognition of the complex needs of adolescents who use violence in the home suggests that, while family violence committed in any context must not be excused, there is a need to respond to this particular form of it – where possible – outside of the criminal justice system.</p>
<p>Our research is revealing that families who have experienced adolescent family violence and those working with them feel the criminal justice system is not appropriate.</p>
<p>In contrast to cases of intimate partner violence, where separation of the parties involved and obtaining an intervention order or court outcome may be a priority to ensure safety, parents often want to maintain the family unit in adolescent family violence cases, and are acutely aware of the stigma and consequences of criminalising their child’s behaviour.</p>
<p>Survey respondents describe the reasons why they had chosen not to contact police. One mother commented:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We were worried that if we called the police things would escalate more … We also thought that if we called the police we would completely lose any remaining trust or relationship with our son.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The small number of survey respondents who did contact police felt such interactions were unhelpful. One mother said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On each occasion, I have felt that the situation was futile. Through calling the police [our son] felt like I have betrayed him … it did not result in an outcome where our family got any support or help.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The need to move away from criminal justice responses is important to emphasise in the current political climate, where youths are increasingly facing more punitive consequences for using violence. </p>
<p>Recognition of the complex needs of all those impacted – including adolescents who use violence, and their parents, carers and siblings who are victimised – reinforces the need to look beyond punitive justice responses in tackling this form of family violence.</p>
<h2>New knowledge and new specialist responses</h2>
<p>Victoria’s <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> found that there is a limited understanding of adolescent family violence among family violence specialists, youth and family services, and in the justice system.</p>
<p><a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/investigating-adolescent-family-violence/">Our research</a> aims to contribute to urgently needed knowledge about adolescent family violence’s nature, extent and impacts. Across Australia there is a need to better understand this complex form of family violence, and to develop specialist knowledge and multi-agency responses.</p>
<p>Effective responses will require government commitment in terms of specialist funding and the resourcing of new forms of integrated service responses.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you have experienced adolescent family violence, please consider sharing your experience with us via our <a href="https://monash.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0Uo7pxG8bRS2d3D">anonymous online survey</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78398/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Fitz-Gibbon is a member of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Research Focus Program (<a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/">http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/</a>). Kate receives funding for family violence related research from the Australian Research Council, ANROWS, and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>JaneMaree Maher is a member of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Research Focus Program (<a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/">http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/</a>). JaneMaree receives funding for family violence related research from the Australian Research Council, ANROWS, and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jude McCulloch is a member of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Research Focus Program (<a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/">http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/</a>). Jude receives funding for family violence related research from the Australian Research Council, ANROWS, and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to this she is a member of the Victorian Government Ministerial Taskforce - Prevention of family violence and other forms of violence against women </span></em></p>Research is revealing that both families who have experienced adolescent family violence and those working with them feel the criminal justice system is not an appropriate way to respond to it.Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityJaneMaree Maher, Professor, Centre for Women's Studies & Gender Research, Sociology, Monash UniversityJude McCulloch, Professor of Criminology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/782502017-06-20T00:50:25Z2017-06-20T00:50:25ZWe need to be cautious when assuming CCTV will prevent family violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170914/original/file-20170525-31801-ngtgre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A reliance on security infrastructure to resolve embedded social problems may be misguided.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year’s Victorian state budget included a A$1.9 billion package to tackle family violence. Part of this was a statewide <a href="http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/keeping-women-and-children-safe/">Personal Safety Initiative</a>, which expands a trial of installing technology – such as CCTV, personal alarms and security doors – in the homes of at-risk women.</p>
<p>The Victorian government is to be commended for recognising that support for victims should be increased. However, a reliance on security infrastructure to resolve embedded social problems may be misguided. </p>
<p>In May, Sydney man Max Spencer was <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-22/man-pleads-not-guilty-to-breaching-avo/8546574">arrested and charged</a> with breaching an apprehended violence order following the death of his girlfriend, Hayley Mcclenahan-Ernst. The circumstances of her death are still being treated as suspicious. </p>
<p>Spencer pleaded not guilty to breaching the order. CCTV footage later emerged, and <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/pregnant-woman-filmed-kissing-partner-hours-before-her-death/news-story/0b6fcbcc2ac95231f1f55205d8599782">has been widely circulated</a>, of the couple kissing and holding hands in the hours before her death. </p>
<p>Such footage will likely become significant if Spencer maintains his not-guilty plea to any charges. Without speculating further on this case, key issues regarding the use of CCTV in responses to family violence must be reconsidered. </p>
<h2>How CCTV and other cameras may be used</h2>
<p>A <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/05/12/family-violence-costs-53b-year-vic">recent report estimated</a> more than 160,000 people experienced family violence in Victoria in 2015-16. This cost the state A$5.3 billion in 2015-16. $2.6 billion of this stemmed from individuals’ pain, suffering, physical and psychological health impacts, and loss of income.</p>
<p>In this context, the $17 million announced for the installation of technology like CCTV seems relatively minor. </p>
<p>Following a “<a href="https://www.rcfv.com.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/Statements/WIT-0079-001-0001-Schultze-9.pdf">successful</a>” pilot program, CCTV installed in victims’ homes was commended for reducing intervention order breaches, and for working as evidence in court to demonstrate when breaches did occur. </p>
<p>Participants in the trial also said they felt safer in their home with CCTV. This is significant, particularly as family violence is a <a href="http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/index.php/42-news/68-no-excuse-4-dfv">key driver of homelessness</a>. The UK has <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6015/1697793.pdf">implemented similar measures</a>.</p>
<p>Visual evidence has a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00450610802537960?journalCode=tajf20&">lot of currency</a> in criminal and civil proceedings. Victoria Police <a href="http://www.vic.gov.au/familyviolence/recommendations/recommendation-details.html?recommendation_id=199">is trialling</a> body-worn cameras when attending family violence incidents for this reason. CCTV may also be useful in <a href="http://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/content/review-family-violence-laws-recommendations">courtroom settings</a> to reduce the need for a victim to encounter their offender. </p>
<p>While technology may be used well in these instances, the expansion of such programs necessitates a closer consideration of risks. </p>
<h2>Importance of introducing safeguards</h2>
<p>While short-term disruption can occur, CCTV’s long-term effectiveness in deterring criminal behaviour is still <a href="http://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/surveillance-and-society/issue/view/Relaunch">inconclusive and disputed internationally</a>. </p>
<p>Because CCTV does not tackle the underlying causes of violence, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07418825.2016.1194449">displacement of crime</a> also often follows. In the context of family violence, this means that while a victim may be temporarily safe in her home, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-18/leila-alavi-husband-stabbed-hairdresser-after-earlier-threats/7762158">leaving for work</a> – for example – may become riskier. This might mean new forms of isolation.</p>
<p>How CCTV is positioned around the property is also significant. If it is only facing outside, then a camera can misinterpret the conditions in which someone enters the home. </p>
<p>Family violence can be coercive in more ways than sexual and physical aggression. <a href="https://theconversation.com/tackling-economic-abuse-of-women-must-be-part-of-our-domestic-violence-response-48376">Economic</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2015/jun/02/domestic-violence-five-women-tell-their-stories-of-leaving-the-most-dangerous-time">psychological</a> violence is prevalent, and these behaviours will not be visible to a camera. CCTV may not be able to capture subtle forms of manipulation, or, say, threats to self-harm.</p>
<p>Family violence is also complex and traumatic for victims. Feelings of shame or a belief that it “might get better” can also come into the mix. </p>
<p>If footage emerges of a victim talking to, engaging with or inviting in a perpetrator, this may be used against a victim to shift blame and <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/Understanding-Violence/Myths-about-violence">perpetuate myths</a>. CCTV footage used as evidence must be properly safeguarded to prevent this.</p>
<p>The idea of cameras placed inside the home also has extreme implications for proportionality and privacy. </p>
<p>Finally, CCTV cameras used in the Victorian trial were connected to static internet addresses. Victims were not provided direct access – instead, they were given an application on their phone to check the cameras before going outside or coming home. </p>
<p>But, for a security device, CCTV cameras are notorious for their poor security. Many thousands <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/3089346/security/thousands-of-hacked-cctv-devices-used-in-ddos-attacks.html">have been hacked</a> in one go. Before installing any sort of surveillance device into the homes of thousands of vulnerable families, strict cyber-security measures need to be adhered to and properly evaluated. </p>
<h2>Where we should focus our attention</h2>
<p>Like an apprehended violence order, the installation of CCTV cameras in the most extreme cases of family violence may be beneficial in <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/avos-are-not-a-miracle-cure-but-a-safety-net-for-victims-of-violence-and-harassment-20150120-12uc12.html">temporarily disrupting</a> threat of physical abuse. However, it is not likely to have meaningful long-term effects. Nor will it work at a statewide level.</p>
<p>Instead, the Victorian government should be encouraged to continue leading its investment in the integration of social and health services, and to focus on <a href="http://www.vic.gov.au/familyviolence.html">shifting attitudes</a> as a better prevention strategy. </p>
<p>To best support this, media outlets have an ethical duty in focusing on these policies, and must therefore consider the implications of needlessly circulating CCTV images. Future court proceedings and future public engagement with the causes – and best preventions – of family violence depend on this. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78250/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caitlin Overington does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Family violence will not always be ‘obvious’ to CCTV. Therefore measures must be put in place to ensure that footage cannot be used against victims should circumstances of violence be challenged.Caitlin Overington, PhD Candidate in Criminology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/740362017-03-29T19:20:43Z2017-03-29T19:20:43ZVictoria leads the way on family violence, but Canberra needs to lift its game<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162574/original/image-20170327-18970-1jjsulv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The royal commission made 227 recommendations to transform Victoria’s family violence system.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/David Crosling</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today marks one year since Victoria’s <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> released its seven-volume <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">report and recommendations</a>. These set out a blueprint to transform responses to, and prevention of, family violence.</p>
<p>A year on, Victoria continues to lead the nation in these areas. It is also arguably emerging as a world leader.</p>
<h2>Successes so far</h2>
<p>The commission made 227 recommendations to transform Victoria’s family violence system. These were based on evidence gathered from 1,000 written submissions, 44 group sessions and 25 days of public hearings with 220 witnesses.</p>
<p>On the same day as the commission released its report, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews committed his government to implementing all of the recommendations. </p>
<p>In April 2016 the government committed A$572 million over the next two years tied specifically to ensuring the completion of 65 recommendations. To date, according to the government’s <a href="http://www.vic.gov.au/familyviolence.html">own tracker</a>, ten recommendations have been completed, 212 are in progress and five have not yet been started.</p>
<p>Several of those completed relate to setting up a “<a href="http://www.vic.gov.au/familyviolence/recommendations.html#filters%5BStatus%5D=%7C3%7C">sustainable and certain</a>” governance structure to guide the reform process. This included establishing a family violence unit within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, a statewide family violence advisory committee, and convening an expert committee on perpetrator interventions.</p>
<p>This governance structure is unique to Victoria. It highlights the government’s ongoing commitment to consultation and stakeholder engagement in delivering on the commission’s work.</p>
<p>Recommendations yet to be started include for the Melbourne Children’s Court to establish family violence applicant and respondent worker positions, and to ensure police referral forms capture disability data.</p>
<p>Among the list of reforms under way but yet to be completed is the complex task of designing, developing and implementing what the commission referred to as “support and safety hubs”. </p>
<p>In recognition of the value of multi-agency responses to family violence, the commission’s idea of statewide hubs seeks to ensure those experiencing – and potentially perpetrating – family violence have access to an integrated range of services in one place. The government’s ten-year plan begins to detail the initial thinking that will inform this reform’s delivery.</p>
<p>Once implemented, the hubs – an Australian first – will provide valuable lessons for other states and territories seeking to introduce integrated responses to family violence.</p>
<h2>Ongoing challenges</h2>
<p>The Victorian government should be commended for its commitment to delivering the royal commission’s recommendations. But challenges remain.</p>
<p>In particular, the hardline response to recent concerns relating to homeless people in the Melbourne CBD fails to recognise the long-established link between family violence victimisation and homelessness. Between 2013 and 2014, family violence was <a href="https://www.justiceconnect.org.au/our-programs/homeless-law/law-and-policy-reform/preventing-evictions-and-sustaining-tenancies/home-safe-submission-royal-commission-family-violence">cited as the main reason</a> people sought help from specialist homelessness services in Victoria.</p>
<p>As the commission documents, people experiencing family violence are at increased risk of homelessness <a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/files/2016/04/MonashFV-Family-Violence-and-Homelessness.pdf">due to several factors</a>. These include the absence of a safe home environment, the shortage of affordable housing options, and the saturated private rental market.</p>
<p>While Andrews has said Victorian women will not be forced to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-24/victorian-government-release-10-year-family-violence-plan/8051712">choose between safety and the streets</a>, the Melbourne City Council vote to ban camping in the city will undoubtedly exacerbate difficulties for women experiencing homelessness due to family violence. It also contributes to a public response to homelessness that is devoid of understanding and compassion.</p>
<p>An integrated response to family violence must not ignore the link between these two issues. Improving Victoria’s family violence system requires better responses to homelessness above and beyond the reforms required as part of the commission’s agenda.</p>
<h2>The federal barrier</h2>
<p>Federally, the barriers to reform, and the lack of a national commitment to funding related Commonwealth services, continue to pose significant challenges.</p>
<p>More than 20 of the royal commission’s recommendations rely on either Commonwealth co-operation or federal law reform. These include broadening the definition of family violence in the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/mr1994227/">Migration Regulations</a> and pursuing amendments to the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/">Family Law Act</a>.</p>
<p>The federal government’s move away from delivering on the recommendation to expand resourcing for legal services in family violence matters is particularly concerning. </p>
<p>In April 2016, the Victorian government <a href="http://www.vic.gov.au/familyviolence/recommendations/recommendation-details.html?recommendation_id=188">committed interim funding of $4.6 million</a> to support legal assistance services. But the federal government has continued to forecast <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-what-are-the-facts-on-funding-for-domestic-violence-legal-services-in-australia-69214">significant cuts to the legal services</a> relied upon by women and children experiencing and escaping family violence. </p>
<p>The recently announced federal parliamentary inquiry <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/fvlawreform">into family law</a> is an important acknowledgement of the need to tackle this area. But reform will have to be supported by resources, too.</p>
<p>Without immediate and sustained action federally, much of the work done to improve legal responses to family violence in Victoria will fail to secure better outcomes for women and children. They will be unable to access justice, fail to secure legal representation, and forced to navigate a significantly under-resourced and over-burdened family law system.</p>
<h2>Being bold for change</h2>
<p>International Women’s Day this year <a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme">urged us</a> to be “bold for change”. </p>
<p>The royal commission, and its recommendations, set out a bold vision for change. The challenge one year on is to ensure its bold vision is matched by bold action. </p>
<p>There are signs of bold action on family violence. But the momentum must be maintained in Victoria – and the federal government needs to get on board.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Fitz-Gibbon is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Monash University and a Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Law and Social Justice at University of Liverpool. She is a member of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Research Focus Program (<a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/">http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/</a>). Kate receives funding for family violence related research from the Australian Research Council, ANROWS, and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>JaneMaree Maher is Professor in the Centre for Women's Studies & Gender Research, Sociology, Monash University. She is a member of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Research Focus Program (<a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/">http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/</a>). She receives funding for family violence related research from the Australian Research Council, ANROWS, and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jude McCulloch is Professor of Criminology, Monash University. She is a member of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Research Focus Program (<a href="http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/">http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/gender-and-family-violence/</a>). She receives funding for family violence related research from the Australian Research Council, ANROWS, and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.Jude McCulloch is a member of the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Taskforce on preventing Family Violence. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandra Walklate is Eleanor Rathbone Chair of Sociology at the University of Liverpool conjoint Professor of Criminlogy, Monash University where she is a member of Gender and Family Violence Focus Research Program.</span></em></p>A year since its royal commission reported, Victoria continues to lead the nation in how to respond to, and prevent, family violence.Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityJaneMaree Maher, Professor, Centre for Women's Studies & Gender Research, Sociology, Monash UniversityJude McCulloch, Professor of Criminology, Monash UniversitySandra Walklate, Eleanor Rathbone Chair of Sociology, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/725702017-02-19T23:41:59Z2017-02-19T23:41:59ZShould Victoria introduce a swifter model of sentencing family violence offenders?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157285/original/image-20170217-4236-1hsvcm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A swift, certain and fair approach is designed to encourage offenders to comply with the conditions of their sentence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Offenders in Victoria, and elsewhere for that matter, often wait months or years between the date they commit a crime and the date a court sentences them. The delay is there for a reason; a number of <a href="http://www.lawhandbook.org.au/03_06_03_steps_in_a_criminal_prosecution/">important legal steps need to take place</a> before someone is sentenced.</p>
<p>But the time lag can also diminish the effectiveness of the eventual punishment imposed on an offender. This is because deterrence to criminal behaviours is more effective when the would-be offender perceives their chances of being caught as high, and when they believe a sanction would be imposed <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1745-9133.12256/full">sooner rather than later</a>.</p>
<p>Fast responses from the criminal justice system are particularly important for family violence offenders, who are <a href="http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_media_releases/2016/mr-Violent-Criminal-Careers-A-retrospective-longitudinal-study.aspx">more likely to re-offend sooner</a> than other offenders. They also usually re-offend <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/family-violence-offenders-more-likely-to-reoffend-than-other-offenders">with further family violence</a>.</p>
<p>In May 2016, a <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">report released</a> by the Victorian Government’s Royal Commission into Family Violence recommended <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/">the Sentencing Advisory Council</a> investigate a <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/projects/swift-and-certain-approaches-to-family-violence-sentencing">different approach</a> to sentencing family violence offenders, specifically a “swift and certain” approach.</p>
<p>This approach is designed to encourage offenders, who are serving their sentence in the community, to comply with the conditions of their sentence. It does so by responding to non-compliance with fast, consistent and low-level sanctions.</p>
<h2>What is a ‘swift, certain and fair’ approach?</h2>
<p>“Swift, certain and fair” approaches are specific programs developed in the United States with a number of key features, including:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Targeting offenders serving a sentence in the community who are required to comply with certain conditions, such as being abstinent from drugs and alcohol</p></li>
<li><p>Identifying which conditions should receive zero-tolerance responses when an offender fails to comply</p></li>
<li><p>Holding a warning hearing to make sure offenders know what is expected of them and what the consequence of non-compliance will be</p></li>
<li><p>Using special measures to detect non-compliance on a regular basis, such as twice-weekly drug tests</p></li>
<li><p>Responding to non-compliance quickly, usually with a court holding a non-compliance hearing with 72 hours or so</p></li>
<li><p>Imposing fixed sanctions for non-compliance, in accordance with what they were told at the warning hearing. For example, in <a href="http://www.swiftcertainfair.com/portfolio/hope-hawaii/">Hawaii’s HOPE probation program</a>, an offender will typically receive two to three days in custody if they admit the violation, ten days if they deny it, and 30 days if they abscond.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The two most commonly discussed “swift, certain and fair” approaches in the United States have been Hawaii’s HOPE program – implemented in response to high rates of drug use and drug-related offending – and <a href="http://apps.sd.gov/atg/dui247/">South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Project</a> – in response to high rates of alcohol use and drink-driving related offending.</p>
<h2>Do these programs work?</h2>
<p>In jurisdictions where a “swift, fair and certain” approach has been implemented, it has usually been in response to the perception current practices weren’t working. In Hawaii, for example, the HOPE program came about because offenders were seen to be breaching probation conditions several times before being brought back to court. </p>
<p>Evidence for the effectiveness of the “swift, certain and fair” approach is mixed. Initial <a href="https://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/community/drug-offenders/pages/hawaii-hope.aspx">research in 2007 and 2008</a> found probationers in Hawaii on HOPE were 72% less likely to have positive drug tests. They were 55% less likely to be arrest again, 53% less likely to have their probation revoked, and 61% less likely to miss appointments with their probation officers. </p>
<p>The same researchers found similar results in a <a href="http://beforeitsnews.com/crime-all-stars/2016/09/hope-ii-a-follow-up-to-hawaiis-hope-evaluation-2457394.html">follow-up evaluation in 2010–2014</a>.</p>
<p>However, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1745-9133.12248/full">more recent research</a> indicates Hawaii’s positive results may not be able to be replicated elsewhere.</p>
<p>That research investigated four HOPE-like programs in four US states and compared probationers on the program with probationers who weren’t on the program. The researchers found although HOPE-like programs were more resource-intensive (both in terms of time and money), they did not reduce re-offending rates or rates at which offenders breached the conditions of their probation.</p>
<h2>What about family violence?</h2>
<p>Traditionally “swift, certain and fair” approaches have been used to exclusively or primarily target drug and alcohol offenders. There is not currently any SCF program in operation, in Australia or elsewhere, that exclusively targets family violence offending. </p>
<p>Some SCF programs indirectly include family violence offenders in their cohort by, for example, targeting offenders with drug and alcohol issues. South Dakota’s alcohol-targeted program was found to <a href="http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP51155.html">reduce family violence arrests</a> over a five-year period by nine per cent.</p>
<p>Victoria’s Drug Court, which also <a href="https://www.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au/drug-court">targets offenders</a> with substance-abuse issues, has a similar model to a “swift, certain and fair” approach. But there are a few key differences. </p>
<p>First, Drug Court participants are required to attend regular court hearings, while participants in a SCF program usually only come back to court if they have been non-compliant.</p>
<p>Second, the Drug Court uses a system of accrued sanctions, such that if an offender’s accrued prison days, for example, exceed a week, the offender is required to serve that time in custody. Participants in a SCF program are immediately sanctioned for each and every violation.</p>
<p>Further, even if programs in other jurisdictions work well, there is no guarantee they can be transplanted into an entirely different context and be just as effective. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://theconversation.com/swift-and-certain-sanctions-does-australia-have-room-for-hope-40158">significant differences</a> between American and Australian criminal justice systems. These include the relationship between correctional services and the courts, considerations of procedural fairness, and the unique history of mass incarceration in the United States.</p>
<p>The Council is inviting <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/projects/consultation">submissions</a> on these and other questions outlined in the discussion paper by Friday, 31 March 2017.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72570/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arie Freiberg is the Chair of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council, an independent statutory body.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul McGorrery works as a Legal Policy Officer at the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council, an independent statutory body.</span></em></p>Following Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence, should the state change the way it sentences offenders?Arie Freiberg, Emeritus Professor of Law, Monash UniversityDr Paul McGorrery, PhD Candidate (Criminal Law), Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/636462016-09-06T20:06:53Z2016-09-06T20:06:53ZTo a modern audience, Othello is simply another story of domestic abuse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136692/original/image-20160906-21893-uzdqnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Othello calls himself 'an honourable murderer', but can a modern audience still accept this claim?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/whats-on/othello-1/?parent=whats-on">Bell Shakespeare’s production of Othello</a> is touring Australia until December 2016. What does the recent <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> tell us about the Venetian general’s murder of his wife Desdemona, and his subsequent suicide? How might the <a href="http://files.rcfv.com.au/Reports/Final/RCFV-All-Volumes.pdf">commission’s recommendations</a> have prevented the violence in Shakespeare’s play? And how does a 21st-century perspective on family violence deepen our insights and pathos on viewing the play?</p>
<p>Othello’s abuse of Desdemona matches the Commission’s description of family violence as a multifaceted pattern of escalating behaviour rather than a single event.</p>
<p>Having been mistakenly told that Desdemona is having an affair with his lieutenant Cassio, Othello repeatedly verbally abuses Desdemona in sexual terms – he calls her a public whore, a commoner, a strumpet and a devil.</p>
<p>He makes increasingly violent threats to harm and kill Desdemona. “She’s gone, I am abused, and my relief / Must be to loather her” quickly escalates to “I’ll tear her all to pieces!” and “chop her into messes.”</p>
<p>The abuse escalates again when Othello publicly strikes Desdemona. In the final murder scene Othello terrorises Desdemona by directing her to pray, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Othello: I would not kill thy soul</p>
<p>Desdemona: Talk you of killing?</p>
<p>Othello: Ay, I do…Thou art to die.</p>
<p>Desdemona: Kill me not, kill me tomorrow, let me live tonight, but half an hour, while I say one prayer.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Othello kills Desdemona by smothering her with pillows in their matrimonial bed.
On subsequently learning there had been no affair, he kills himself.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136693/original/image-20160906-6101-tcxr6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136693/original/image-20160906-6101-tcxr6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136693/original/image-20160906-6101-tcxr6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136693/original/image-20160906-6101-tcxr6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136693/original/image-20160906-6101-tcxr6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136693/original/image-20160906-6101-tcxr6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136693/original/image-20160906-6101-tcxr6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136693/original/image-20160906-6101-tcxr6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Othello and Desdemona by Alexandre Marie Colin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">via Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The commission reports strangulation as a common method used by male perpetrators to kill female victims. It also reports:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a demonstrable link between family violence, homicide and suicide … a large number of men who died from suicide in Victoria between 2009 and 2012 had a history of family violence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Othello suicides not because he killed Desdemona, but rather because he killed her on the mistaken understanding that she had desired and loved another man. The implication is that if she actually had an affair with Cassio, Othello would have considered the killing justified, and not taken his own life.</p>
<p>The Commission shows the causes of family violence to be complex. Factors shaping it include gender inequality and community attitudes towards women:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Stereotypes about men and women are reinforced through practices such as social tolerance of discrimination and the idea that violence against women is sometimes justified by women’s behaviour – for example, if a woman has sex with another man.</p>
<p>Deeply embedded societal beliefs – for example, the belief … that men’s intimate partners and children are their possessions to do with as they please; that women are inferior to men – influence men’s choices to commit sexual and other acts of violence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the Shakespeare play, Iago, when describing Desdemona’s secret marriage to Othello to her father Brabantio, characterises it as an act of theft. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Look to your house, your daughter, and your bags. <br>
Thieves, thieves!<br>
…you’re robbed.<br></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Desdemona herself adopts the narrative of being the property of others, saying she has preserved her body for Othello “from any other unlawful touch”.</p>
<p>The commission noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Societal beliefs also affect victims’ perceptions of the criminality of such actions. Women and children, like men, are socialised in a world where such beliefs are embedded in language, the family and other common social institutions and practices … often women believe that the violence is their own fault. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Desdemona attempts to manage Othello’s violence trying to woo him back. She accepts his abuse as “my wretched fortune” asking, “What shall I do to win my lord again?”</p>
<p>Venetian society is barely aware of male violence towards women. Iago’s abuse of his wife Emilia, for instance, is not commented on or apparently even noticed by the other characters. The only rebuke of Othello is made by Lodovico (representative of the Venetian duke and senate) who, observing Othello strike Desdemona, tells him to “make amends” – but makes no other intervention.</p>
<p>Desdemona herself struggles to identify or understand her abuse. Before she dies Emilia asks her “O, who hath done this deed?”; Desdemona replies, “Nobody; I myself.” And indeed, one victim told the Commission:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I didn’t have a language to describe what was wrong in my relationship.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136695/original/image-20160906-6114-1iwk7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136695/original/image-20160906-6114-1iwk7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136695/original/image-20160906-6114-1iwk7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136695/original/image-20160906-6114-1iwk7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136695/original/image-20160906-6114-1iwk7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136695/original/image-20160906-6114-1iwk7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136695/original/image-20160906-6114-1iwk7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136695/original/image-20160906-6114-1iwk7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Othello’s Lamentation (1857), by William Salter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Folger Shakespeare Library, via Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the end of Othello – after the deaths of Desdemona, Othello and Emilia – Lodovico describes the tragedy as the result of Iago’s villainy and Othello’s failings, rather than due to societal attitudes towards women, or systemic violence. </p>
<p>The commission noted that too little effort is devoted to preventing the occurrence of family violence in the first place. Instead society reacts to family violence as a one-off crisis, after the event. </p>
<p>Gender equality, it noted, will also reduce family violence: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Intimate partner violence is likely to be higher when women lack autonomy and men dominate decision-making in public life, as well as in families and relationships.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Can a modern audience, viewing Othello through a 21st century framework of family violence, still see the play as a tragedy? A view of family violence as an act of male entitlement, reflective of social beliefs of women as property, removes the tragic glory from Othello’s suicide. </p>
<p>We cannot accept his claim that he was “one that loved not wisely, but too well”.</p>
<p>Nor his claim to be “an honourable murderer… For naught did I in haste, but all in honour.”</p>
<p>Indeed, the tragedy of the play could have been prevented by recognising Othello’s controlling behaviour towards Desdemona as violence arising out of societal attitudes as much as Othello’s personality. </p>
<p>There is no tragedy in his mistaken murder of Desdemona. There is no honour in killing her even if she was unfaithful. A modern view of family violence leaves Othello as nothing but a killer acting out the narrative of gendered violence of the 16th century Venetian society presented by Shakespeare. We are left without a tragedy and just a murder. </p>
<p>For a 21st century audience informed by the findings of the Royal Commission, the pathos of the play comes from how unnecessary and preventable – yet inevitable within the story – are the deaths. And how such deaths continue today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Shepherd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Othello is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. But in the light of 21st-century understandings of abuse, the play is recast as a textbook case of domestic terrorism.Matthew Shepherd, Lecturer Dispute Resolution Advocacy, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/593012016-05-25T03:25:05Z2016-05-25T03:25:05ZMoney plays a role in family violence across cultures<p>Most women who face economic abuse do not see it as family violence. But the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">Victorian Royal Commission on Family Violence</a> connected the two.</p>
<p>Economic abuse has only recently been recognised as part of family violence in Australian law. </p>
<p>The Royal Commission <a href="http://files.rcfv.com.au/Reports/Final/RCFV-All-Volumes.pdf">report</a> places economic abuse within the wider framework of economic gender inequality. Following Good Shepherd’s formulation it defines economic abuse as behaviours that “control a woman’s ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources, thus threatening her economic security and potential for self-sufficiency”.</p>
<p>The examples range from restricting women’s access to funds, not allowing women to work or study, restricting mobility, having women take on debt that only benefits the perpetrator, or threatening to cut off services. Economic or financial abuse can also take place when the woman leaves her abuser. This involves not paying child support and using legal processes the woman cannot afford to gain an unfair advantage in property settlement.</p>
<p>The Royal Commission recommends improving the understanding of economic abuse and improving financial literacy. It asks for a greater emphasis on economic abuse in general education and training for Victoria Police, financial counsellors and other agencies dealing with family violence. It details a needed change of processes and legal definitions so that courts and tribunals, financial institutions, utilities and other service providers take account of economic abuse.</p>
<p>The Royal Commission outlines several stories of how the joint bank account and joint assets are abused. These are also documented by <a href="http://www.wire.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/WIRE-Research-Report_Relationship-Problems-and-Money-Women-talk-about-financial-abuse-August2014.pdf">WIRE</a>, <a href="http://www.womenslegal.org.au/files/file/Stepping%20Stones%20Report(1).pdf">Stepping Stones</a>, <a href="http://www.goodshep.org.au/media/1417/good-policy-vol-11-no-1-march-2016-5mb.pdf">Good Shepherd</a> and <a href="https://www.goodshep.org.au/media/1220/restoring-financial-safety_legal-responses-to-economic-abuse_web.pdf">Wyndham Legal Service</a>. </p>
<p>The Commission tells of a woman with a joint bank account who was made to live frugally while her husband withdrew money daily from the account. He was also moving large amounts of money from their pension funds.</p>
<p>Another woman told of how her wages went to the joint account. Her husband deposited his earnings in his personal account. She saved a few thousand dollars over time only to find he had spent it all in one month.</p>
<p>While the Royal Commission has successfully placed economic abuse as part of family violence, there is no reference to the sociology of money which focuses on the social and cultural understandings of money. Academic literature on the sociology of money also does not refer to family violence. </p>
<p>The joint bank account often symbolises <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/other-books/Marriage-Money-Supriya-Singh-9781864483284">togetherness and partnership</a>. But the joint account can also lead to abuse as the stories above show. Even in more everyday situations, the joint account can be used to avert questions of power and ownership while asserting control. </p>
<p>Women in my research used the joint account for the household and the children. But one of the joys of even poorly paid part-time work was that they could buy a dress, a book, have a pedicure, without feeling they had misused the money. The husband was often horrified to hear this. But this was an unspoken tension, for money earned was money owned. </p>
<p>Some women focused on strategies to avert control. One technique was to split the plastic, by putting an expensive item on two credit cards. </p>
<p>In India male control of money is the norm, particularly in joint families in small towns. Money is <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2011.02047.x/abstract;jsessionid=49CE36EF34AD3868D0C0595CDD16F820.d02t03">owned by the family</a> rather than the couple. In India it is presented as protection and part of the patrilineal family, but in Australia it leads to an uneasy negotiation with Australian norms and the couple owning money in a marriage. </p>
<p>One woman I will call Ekta sobbed, talking of how her marriage had dissolved within three years. Ekta, 27, was the main earner. Her husband was on a spouse visa. But he used the money she earned for all the household expenses, sent his money and her money to his parents. By the time she left the marriage, her husband had moved all the money from their joint account to his separate account. </p>
<p>Jasvinder Sidhu, co-founder of Jagriti, a community forum to address family violence in the Indian community in Victoria, talks of a woman he calls Pooja. She arrived in Melbourne a few months ago after marrying an Indian permanent resident. Her mother-in-law asked Pooja to tell her parents to send additional money and wanted control of Pooja’s jewelry. </p>
<p>Jagjit (pseudonym) who married an Australian Indian said her husband threatened divorce if she did not ask her parents to transfer their property to her as she was the only child. </p>
<p>The social and cultural understandings of money in family and marriage are a necessary foundation for effective policy and practice relating to family violence. They are at the heart of the tussle between commitment, financial independence and togetherness in marriage and family. </p>
<p>My current research with <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/195836922?selectedversion=NBD55145651">Dr Marg Liddell</a> of RMIT University and <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/family-violence-the-passage-from-india-can-be-rough-for-women-20151014-gk8lbb.html">Jasvinder Sidhu</a> of Federation University will compare women’s past experience of financial violence in intimate partner relations and elder abuse in the Anglo-Celtic and Indian communities in Australia. </p>
<p>We hope to learn how mothers who have experienced family violence can fireproof their daughters against it. If we can translate our sociological insights to policy and practice, we will make a difference.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59301/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Supriya Singh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>To formulate better policy on family violence, we need to understand economic abuse.Supriya Singh, Professor, Sociology of Communications, Graduate School of Business & Law, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/572152016-04-06T20:08:45Z2016-04-06T20:08:45ZThe banking sector can do its bit to combat family violence<p>The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence has laid out a challenge to Australian banks <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">in its recommendations</a> to better respond to victims who are suffering from economic abuse as much as physical, mental and emotional abuse.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">The recommendations</a> focus on restoring the financial security of victims of family violence and measures to protect victims from further financial hardship and assist their economic recovery.
The Australian Banking Association responded by making a commitment <a href="http://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/banks-to-act-on-family-violence-20160331-gnvp7j">to produce industry guidelines</a> for family violence within 12 months. </p>
<p>Banks are among the largest employers in Australia. For example, ANZ, which has engaged family violence campaigner and former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty as a consultant, employs 21,000 people in Australia, more than <a href="http://www.anz.com/resources/9/5/95288305-137c-40b5-98d4-4d35037d2d7b/Submission-into-family-violence.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">half of them are women</a>. </p>
<p>The bank said in <a href="http://www.anz.com/resources/9/5/95288305-137c-40b5-98d4-4d35037d2d7b/Submission-into-family-violence.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">its submission to the Royal Commission</a> that family violence was not only an issue among its customers but also in the bank’s workforce. </p>
<p>More generally, there are financial implications in every case of family violence - most are severe and result in permanent financial hardship. </p>
<h2>How are Australian banks responding to family violence?</h2>
<p>Economic abuse is the most common form of family violence that confronts the banks but is the most <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/2013-national-community-attitudes-towards-violence-against-women-survey">difficult to identify and is poorly understood</a>. <a href="http://wbg.org.uk/GBA_Present_2_2951060362.pdf">It can be in the form</a> of financial control, for example when a partner insists on seeing how all money is spent or makes important financial decisions without input or discussion; or financial exploitation when debts are accrued in the victim’s name or a partner spends money needed for household bills; and also financial sabotage when someone is prevented by their partner from working or studying. </p>
<p>As part of my current research, I conducted interviews with ANZ employees who confirmed that staff in bank branches and call centres, reported dealing with customers who are experiencing, trying to leave, or have left abusive relationships. It’s undeniable that some of the responsibility of responding to victims falls to the banks.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.refuge.org.uk/files/Money-Matters.pdf">Research shows</a> that staff training is critical to identify customers who may be experiencing family violence and to give them the skills to provide effective care and appropriate assistance. </p>
<p>Banks are also examining how abusive situations may be exacerbated due to banking procedures. My current research indicates this is proving difficult because changing procedures can have negative effects for other customers.</p>
<p>One of the ways that banks can get on the front foot is through financial education to help victims regain control of their financial situations. The ANZ will work with Rosie Batty to launch an internal Global Domestic Violence Strategy which focuses on education and awareness for employees and interventions for customers.</p>
<p>Another financial initiative <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/Reports/RCFV_Full_Report_Interactive.pdf">endorsed by the Royal Commission</a> is the provision of small loans through community organisations. The National Australia Bank has provided these sorts of loans through a <a href="http://nils.com.au/">No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS)</a>. The criteria for these loans can be changed to help the applicant, by not requiring them to have been in a fixed address for a period of time and also increasing the loan amount above the usual limit to allow for more household goods to be purchased. </p>
<h2>The role of financial literacy</h2>
<p>As pointed out in the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/Reports/RCFV_Full_Report_Interactive.pdf">Royal Commission’s report</a> much of the investment and attention to date is given to treating the aftermath of family violence; this is warranted and critically important. However, prevention efforts deserve matching investment if Australia wants to eradicate, not just treat family violence. </p>
<p>The commission recommended that the Victorian Government support the expansion of initiatives that deliver financial literacy training and education for victims of family violence, within two years.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joca.12057/epdf">A US study found that</a> offering financial education to domestic violence victims at certain times can empower women with the financial knowledge and skills needed to rebuild their lives. This critical time is when a victim first leaves an abusive relationship and is trying to navigate an independent life.</p>
<p>When people apply for financial products such as joint accounts or mortgages, <a href="http://www.refuge.org.uk/files/Money-Matters.pdf">research in the UK recommends</a> banks can use this opportunity to help educate customers of the importance of financial independence and joint money management practices.</p>
<p>In Australia the ANZ has developed <a href="https://www.anz.com/resources/c/f/cf734262-57a2-4b17-8a6f-d056324b4ec0/moneyminded-report-2014.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">MoneyMinded</a>, a financial literacy training program which is a set of resources used by community organisations to help people build money management skills, knowledge and confidence. It includes a range of topics from budgeting, saving and dealing with debt to consumer rights housing and planning for the future. </p>
<p>Financial education is not a cure-all for economic abuse nor should it absolve banks from taking other actions needed to assist victims. It should be tailored to suit the context of family violence, delivered at the right time and in the appropriate manner.</p>
<p>It can provide women with the necessary support and also knowledge, skills and resources to help recovery from an abusive relationship and build resilience for the future. Also, there is the potential for financial education to provide women with strategies to prevent economic abuse or at least stem its impacts. </p>
<p>The Royal Commission for Family Violence has brought to Australia’s attention the range of disparate sectors that have a critical role in the prevention and alleviation of the impacts of family violence. </p>
<p>The corporate sector have been formally called to action to “do its bit” to protect and help victims recover from family violence. No longer should the community sector have to shoulder the full burden of addressing family violence – it requires a concerted effort from all sectors. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roslyn Russell conducts research relevant to this article that is funded by ANZ. </span></em></p>The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence put the pressure on banks to respond to economic abuse. Now the banks are taking the first steps.Roslyn Russell, Professor Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/570472016-04-05T20:10:23Z2016-04-05T20:10:23ZReforms to Victoria’s family violence responses must close the web and bring perpetrators into view<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117399/original/image-20160405-27157-uwficc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Victoria needs an improved web of accountability to link various sectors together to ensure family violence perpetrators are made visible and accountable.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-300244034/stock-photo-spider-web.html?utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_source=77643&irgwc=1&utm_campaign=Idee%20Inc.&tpl=77643-108110">Ensuper from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence <a href="http://files.rcfv.com.au/Reports/RCFV_Full_Report_Interactive.pdf">identified</a> the invisibility of perpetrators as a key system fault. Its final report recommended an improved <a href="http://ntv.org.au/wp-content/uploads/130919-ntv-accountability-paper.pdf">web of accountability</a> that would link the family violence, justice, health and human services sectors to ensure perpetrators are visible and accountable.</p>
<h2>Key recommendations</h2>
<p>The report’s comments on the response to primarily male perpetrators’ violence toward female partners and children highlighted two points.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>We know very little about the Victorian family violence system’s effectiveness in responding to abusive men and how men engage with this system.</p></li>
<li><p>We do not collect centralised data on men or monitor those attending <a href="http://mrs.org.au/information-for-women/what-men-can-do/">behaviour-change programs</a>. We can’t follow their progress or monitor their interactions with partners, ex-partners, children and other family members.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The commission offered nine recommended ways forward. The first step is to review the current system and practices. This includes forming an expert panel to advise on the range and types of programs suitable for Victoria.</p>
<p>Around 21 further recommendations scattered throughout the report have potential direct impact on perpetrators. These focus on legislative <a href="https://theconversation.com/royal-commission-calls-for-complete-overhaul-of-victorias-family-violence-services-and-responses-56034">system change</a> and improved information exchanges between police, courts, child protection agencies and the family violence system.</p>
<p>If implemented, these changes would have the greatest impact on making perpetrators more visible and accountable for their abuse and violence. </p>
<p>The current system unintentionally protects men by making them invisible and providing opportunities for them to avoid responsibility. The commission is calling for a system behaviour change to stop unintended colluding with perpetrators in a way that allows men to slip through loopholes.</p>
<h2>What do we know about perpetrators?</h2>
<p>Because the response system is heavily justice-focused, what is known about perpetrators is mostly limited to those cases at the extreme end, where police are called to attend an incident and evidence is collected easily.</p>
<p>Victoria Police data reveals that 16,914 (or 9%) of abusers were responsible for recidivist offending of five or more incidents. These repeat offences made up 34% of all family violence incidents reported to police. </p>
<p>Another third (or 31%) of incidents were perpetrated by 125,044 abusers responsible for a single, or first police-reported, incident. A woman is likely to <a href="http://anrows.org.au/publications/compass/PSS">report to police</a> only after the abuse has been ongoing and has escalated. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117295/original/image-20160404-27150-hg0vrr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117295/original/image-20160404-27150-hg0vrr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117295/original/image-20160404-27150-hg0vrr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=165&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117295/original/image-20160404-27150-hg0vrr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=165&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117295/original/image-20160404-27150-hg0vrr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=165&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117295/original/image-20160404-27150-hg0vrr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117295/original/image-20160404-27150-hg0vrr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117295/original/image-20160404-27150-hg0vrr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=207&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Royal Commission on Family Violence</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Police data also records <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237757337_Issues_in_Domestic_and_Family_Violence_Risk_Assessment_and_Risk_Management">risk factors</a> that may trigger or escalate an abusive incident. These include a pregnancy, separation, alcohol and drug use and mental health issues.</p>
<p>However, police <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297290144_Review_of_the'_Code_of_Practice_for_the_Investigation_of_Family_Violence'">record such information</a> for only a small number of incidents unless they are highly trained in family violence responses. Most will record only what is obvious by sight: the more extreme examples of mental health issues, alcohol and drug use. </p>
<h2>What is missing?</h2>
<p>What is missing from the data is abuse not reported to police. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlXXt6WNsM">More than 90%</a> of family violence incidents are said not to be significant enough to report to police. </p>
<p>The report makes significant recommendations that more emphasis needs to be placed on improving systems to “see” non-physical, less obvious forms of violence and extended patterns of intimidation, isolation and control. </p>
<p>The perpetrators in the police data make up only the tip of the recidivist iceberg. By focusing on these men we can reduce some of the most significant harm to a group of women and children. But keeping the focus narrow risks stereotyping the more extreme perpetrators. </p>
<p>Stereotyping loses sight of those who are perpetrating daily repeat offences of financial, psychological and emotional abuse, which may cause the most <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/the-health-costs-of-violence">long-term harm</a>.</p>
<p>A limited focus on physical violence too often allows the discussion to be framed around easily identifiable “good” and “bad” men. This <a href="http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/uploads/media/Research_series/From_violence_to_coercive_control_Fisher_2011.pdf">allows men</a> who are not physically violent to avoid being the target of prevention efforts. When this happens, we lose opportunities to intervene against men who are abusive in ways that are minimised and trivialised.</p>
<p>The perpetration of family violence is much more complicated than physical assaults combined with mental heath issues, alcohol and drug use. Emotional and psychological control <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9dZOgr78eE">erodes</a> many women’s self-confidence, leaves long-lasting scars and prevents women from asking for help. Many will live with the abuse for between <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297283133_Safe_at_Home_Where_women_live_when_leaving_a_violent_relationship_and_the_role_of_civil_protection_orders?ev=prf_pub">seven and ten years</a> before asking for any help. </p>
<p>When drawing recommendations from the report we must not lose sight of these families at the expense of working with men at the extreme end. </p>
<h2>What can we expect to change?</h2>
<p>Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has accepted all 227 of the <a href="http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/its-time-to-fix-our-broken-family-violence-system/">report’s recommendations</a>. But it’s unlikely that all will be implemented. Many are linked to national systems and legislation, and will be guided by the COAG final report on <a href="https://www.dpmc.gov.au/taskforces/reducing-violence-women/advice-coag">Reducing Violence against Women and their Children</a>.</p>
<p>Australia’s track record of implementing the full range of royal commission recommendations is modest at best. A <a href="http://www.parentingrc.org.au/images/Resources/Imp-of-recs-arising-from-inquiries-of-relevance-to-RC-into-CSA/Implementation-of-recommendations-previous-enquiries-v2.pdf">2015 review</a> of the implementation of recommendations from royal commissions related to child sexual abuse identified that less than half (48%) were implemented in full.</p>
<p>The review linked successful implementation with already established processes and structures, strong leadership and stakeholder engagement. Barriers were linked to resource and structural constraints, and organisational culture.</p>
<p>Victoria has strong advocacy for improving perpetrator accountability. Some good prevention work has <a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-based-violence-prevention-in-the-classroom-is-just-a-start-46515">taken place</a> in its schools. </p>
<p>The report calls for an expert panel to review programs for men. If this panel includes already engaged and strong sector leaders, it is likely to result in better overall implementation. </p>
<p>So, if Victoria has had strong advocacy, leadership and engagement within the family violence sector, why is the perpetrator system not stronger? Historically, this comes down not to a lack of asking, but to a lack of resources, unbending structural constraints and system resistance to change – not unlike individual violent men’s resistance to change.</p>
<p>The barriers other royal commissions have faced are also likely to impede these recommendations from being implemented. Therefore, while the government can accept the recommendations, ultimately it will be up to the leaders within the system to take up the challenge and together make the system accountable. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristin Diemer receives funding from the Australia Research Council for the Fathering Challenges project to examine the way in which programs for men deal with both abusive and violent behaviours and the impact this has on children in their care.</span></em></p>Victoria’s family violence system unintentionally protects male perpetrators by making them invisible and providing opportunities for them to avoid responsibility.Kristin Diemer, Senior Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/569232016-04-05T05:39:57Z2016-04-05T05:39:57ZBoosting Indigenous-only services alone won’t end Aboriginal family violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117426/original/image-20160405-13549-1kxyleq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"> Aboriginal Victorians are nearly eight times more likely to be involved in a family violence incident than non-Indigenous Victorians.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/5458552122/">PROMichael Coghlan/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Victorian <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Report-Recommendations">Royal Commission into Family Violence’s final report</a>, released last week, recognises the disproportionate rate of family violence in Indigenous communities. Aboriginal Victorians are nearly eight times more likely to be involved in a family violence incident involving police than non-Aboriginal Victorians and the rate is increasing.</p>
<p>Testimony to the commission made it clear that few Aboriginal families were immune to the trauma, despair and damage resulting from family violence. </p>
<p>The cost is most devastating for Aboriginal children. Many are ending up in out-of-home care as a direct consequence of family violence. There is genuine concern that without culturally sensitive and trauma-informed support, these children will contribute to the next intergenerational wave of family violence.</p>
<p>Access to family violence services remains a key problem among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Victorians. As a means of responding to this issue, the commission recommended increasing funding to Aboriginal-community-controlled organisations to provide frontline services. The report recognised that such services were more likely to deliver culturally sensitive programs and that this may increase community access.</p>
<p>But boosting Indigenous-only services won’t solve the Aboriginal family violence problem. Mainstream services must also become culturally sensitive and responsive so that they too can provide services to Indigenous Victorians.</p>
<h2>Crisis support for all Victorians</h2>
<p>One might ask why Aboriginal people can’t just use Aboriginal services. Why do they need to use or access mainstream services if they have their own? </p>
<p>The reality is that Aboriginal women and children make choices about which services they wish to access on the basis of safety, accessibility and the guarantee of confidentiality. </p>
<p>If an Aboriginal woman’s abusive partner or his family work at a particular Aboriginal organisation, for instance, she may feel that her safety may be compromised by attending the service. Equally, an Aboriginal woman may feel “shamed up” by the violence she has experienced and may not want anybody in her family or community knowing. </p>
<p>In these instances, she may choose a mainstream service over an Indigenous service. She should be supported in her decision to do so. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117038/original/image-20160401-28443-tc0vi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117038/original/image-20160401-28443-tc0vi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117038/original/image-20160401-28443-tc0vi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117038/original/image-20160401-28443-tc0vi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117038/original/image-20160401-28443-tc0vi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117038/original/image-20160401-28443-tc0vi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117038/original/image-20160401-28443-tc0vi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117038/original/image-20160401-28443-tc0vi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aboriginal women reporting domestic violence currently face judgemental and victim-blaming responses from a range of community members and organisations (click to enlarge).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.ilc.unsw.edu.au/sites/ilc.unsw.edu.au/files/articles/RESISTANCE_AND_RENEWAL_Community%20Report.pdf">Indigenous Law Centre, UNSW</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It takes time and resources to create a service that is considered culturally safe. The family violence service sector is currently overwhelmed with day-to-day crisis delivery, and needs to be supported in this activity.</p>
<p>Reviews and action plans alone do not build the institutional and attitudinal changes needed to create <a href="http://www.ecdip.org/docs/pdf/Cultural%20Safety%20Poster.pdf">culturally safe places</a>. This relies on challenging one’s own beliefs, building local awareness, and understanding of the specific experiences and needs of Indigenous communities.</p>
<p>It also requires fostering partnerships with the Indigenous community so that they can provide feedback and support to create culturally safe places.</p>
<h2>Court processes for all Victorians</h2>
<p>One of the more controversial commission recommendations is to extend the jurisdiction of the Koori Magistrate and County Courts to include offences where the defendant has contravened a family violence intervention order. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=0ahUKEwiv_8uH3OzLAhWGKaYKHdbWCO0QFgg7MAY&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fpublication-documents%2FSentencing%2520in%2520the%2520Koori%2520Court%2520Division%2520of%2520the%2520Magistrates%2520Court.doc&usg=AFQjCNED6s43vU4tov3b9HrvSfivnbTqCw">Koori Court</a> is a specialist court that sentences Indigenous defendants who have pleaded guilty to criminal charges. Currently, those involving sexual offences or family violence are excluded. </p>
<p>The aim of the Koori Court is to have more community involvement in sentencing, to reduce recidivism and breaches of orders, and to provide more culturally appropriate sentences. The latter often involves an individualised plan tackling the underlying factors that contribute to the offender’s behaviour by ordering them to, for example, undergo drug or alcohol rehabilitation and/or participation in counselling.</p>
<p>But the Koori Court is <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/weekend-australian-magazine/justice-in-black-and-white/story-e6frg8h6-1225942356421">not equipped to deal</a> with family violence matters. Nor can it do so under legislative restrictions that preclude the Koori Court to hear such matters. </p>
<p>The proceedings are clearly offender-focused. While victims are entitled to attend the proceedings, processes for enabling this to happen safely <a href="http://www.indigenousjustice.gov.au/db/publications/290107.html">are questionable</a>.</p>
<p>Aboriginal victims are likely to be better served by specialist family violence courts rather than Koori Courts. The commission also recommends the Victorian government legislate to ensure that family violence matters are heard and determined in specialist family violence courts within five years. </p>
<p>There is little point diverting Aboriginal offenders from a <a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/32.%20Specialisation/existing-specialised-family-violence-courts-australia-0">specialist family violence court system</a> that is skilled in dealing with the gendered nature of violence and the power and control dynamics this violence facilitates. These courts are likely to be much more responsive to both victims and offenders.</p>
<p>I would also caution against the message it would send to the Aboriginal community if Aboriginal offenders are diverted from the family violence court to the Koori Court, particularly if the Koori Court processes are perceived to be more lenient, do not adequately support victims’ voices, or if such processes result in higher rates of reoffending. </p>
<p>More research is required to demonstrate that this model can produce the safety and support needed for Aboriginal families experiencing family violence. </p>
<h2>Early intervention and prevention</h2>
<p>The commission recognises that while an immediate crisis response is important, the system must be equally invested in early intervention and prevention.</p>
<p>Early intervention is the process of providing specialist support services for a person who needs them. It comprises three steps: early identification; assessment of risk; and immediate access to support and assistance.</p>
<p>Ideally, intervention should take place before the behaviour is even named as family violence. It needs to be when women are beginning to feel uncomfortable or when their partner’s behaviour starts to change. </p>
<p>The support offered could be education and awareness around what constitutes family violence and safety planning, including strategies on who to contact and what to do should the behaviours escalate. It could also include an assessment of underlying issues that are known to <a href="http://aboriginal.telethonkids.org.au/media/673992/wt-part-5-chapt-23-final.pdf">trigger violence</a>, such as drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, experiences of racism, mediating them before they escalate. </p>
<p>The commission recognises the lack of investment in this area. The Indigenous community has been active in improving education and awareness. But they have been reliant on one-off or short-term funding, which may dilute their longer-term prevention messages. This must be addressed. </p>
<p>Here is a good example of an early intervention and prevention program featuring Shepparton Indigenous leader Auntie Frances:</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JIyKwh9yOyY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Victoria Police.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another from the Victoria Police campaign – Strong Families, Strong Culture – targeting Indigenous men.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/okoLytSmOZU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Victoria Police.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Supporting Aboriginal children</h2>
<p>The commission recognises the impact of family violence on Aboriginal children. It highlights the need to increase early intervention and much-needed culturally sensitive, trauma-informed counselling to children who end up in out-of-home care.</p>
<p>Too often, in an adult world with adult crises, the voices, experiences and needs of children are relegated to the periphery. This report has heard the children’s voices and has recognised that responding to the current crisis in family violence is not just about responding to adults but to all those in the family unit affected by the violence.</p>
<p>The commission’s recommendations, if implemented, will not only improve the conditions of individual children but may also assist in stemming the intergenerational violence that continues to plague our communities. </p>
<p>The report contains 227 recommendations, nine of which are Indigenous-specific. While we need to ensure Aboriginal people are free to use any service, they must be culturally safe and responsive. Overall, the commission’s report provides an excellent blueprint to overhaul Victoria’s family violence system. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56923/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyllie Cripps has received funding from the Australian Research Council, details of which are included in her bio. </span></em></p>Mainstream family violence services must also become culturally sensitive and responsive so they too can provide services to Indigenous community members.Kyllie Cripps, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law; Deputy Director of the Indigenous Law Centre, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/568012016-03-31T23:29:44Z2016-03-31T23:29:44Z‘Silent victims’: royal commission recommends better protections for child victims of family violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116932/original/image-20160331-28451-1eckle5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If we are to prevent family violence, we must change the attitudes and social conditions that give rise to it.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Among the Victorian <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">Royal Commission into Family Violence’s</a> most important <a href="http://files.rcfv.com.au/Reports/RCFV_Full_Report_Interactive.pdf">recommendations</a> is the powerful acknowledgement that family violence has devastating effects on children. Commissioner Marcia Neave <a href="http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/vic/2016/03/31/family-violence-response--not-about-money-.html">described children</a> as the “silent victims” of family violence. </p>
<p>This important emphasis has been a long time coming. </p>
<p>The commission noted that children have conventionally been overlooked as victims of family violence. This is the legacy of limited or incomplete data-gathering, siloed responses, and complicated referral processes. The result is children enduring harm without the specialised supports to help them cope with the trauma of family violence. </p>
<h2>Witnessing violence is experiencing violence</h2>
<p>There are myriad ways in which children experience violence in family settings. Children may endure violence directly, or witness violence perpetrated on others. Both scenarios result in severe adverse effects for children in the short and long term.</p>
<p>The impacts that family violence has on children have been broadly acknowledged at the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-to-reduce-violence-against-women-and-their-children-2010-2022">national level</a>. Yet the commission’s suite of recommendations about service responses for child victims of family violence are welcome. They are a highly practical mechanism for ensuring that children’s well-being is a central consideration in reforming Victoria’s family violence services. </p>
<p>Central to the commission’s recommendations is the provision of priority funding to increase specialised therapeutic counselling for children affected by family violence. </p>
<p>Other practical recommendations to ensure child victims are no longer overlooked include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>incorporating child-specific indicators into risk-assessment processes;</p></li>
<li><p>increasing family violence training; and </p></li>
<li><p>strengthening protocols for child protection workers to ensure appropriate referrals for children and young people.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Multiple recommendations are made to improve children’s immediate safety needs. These include improved access to suitable crisis accommodation for women and children, complete with the specialised consultations necessary to support children. </p>
<p>Legislative changes are also recommended, including amendments to allow for the inclusion of children on family violence intervention orders. </p>
<p>The commission’s approach of mainstreaming children’s well-being throughout all recommendations enhances its child-specific recommendations. The establishment of support and safety hubs, for example, would ensure intake teams include staff trained in children’s services and that, where possible, services necessary for children are co-located. </p>
<p>This approach lays the foundation for the multi-sectoral cultural change that is required to ensure children’s needs are considered as a matter of course. </p>
<h2>Adolescents who use family violence</h2>
<p>The commission’s report also examined the system’s adequacy in preventing and responding to children and young people who perpetrate family violence. </p>
<p>The report found that one in ten family violence incidents reported to Victoria Police in the last five years were perpetrated by a person under 19 years of age. </p>
<p>Where these behaviours occur, specialised response is required to divert young people from the criminal justice system, and to provide the therapeutic support necessary for behavioural change. The report recognised that, at present, there are:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… no systemic responses to the needs of these young people and their families. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The recommendations included: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>extending therapeutic treatment orders to children aged 15-17 years;</p></li>
<li><p>trialling Youth Justice Group Conferencing with Adolescent Family Violence Programs;</p></li>
<li><p>establishing family violence application and respondent worker positions at the Children’s Court; and</p></li>
<li><p>providing support accommodation for young people with violent behaviours. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Cultural change</h2>
<p>The commission reinforced the importance of <a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-based-violence-prevention-in-the-classroom-is-just-a-start-46515">respectful relationship education</a> as a key measure for preventing future violence. This is of critical importance for young people who are victims and/or perpetrators of family violence. </p>
<p>The commission reported that between 2009-10 and 2013-14, children were present at roughly 35% of family violence incidents. Investing resources in the rigorous design, evaluation and delivery of educational programs for children is crucial in challenging the normalisation of violence that is driven by media images and, for some children, by the violence they endure in their own homes.</p>
<p>There is a need for caution here, however, to ensure that preventative efforts of this kind don’t pin unfair expectations on children to champion non-violent behaviours when so much around them valourises or condones violence. How realistic is it to expect children to bear responsibility for swimming against such a tide?</p>
<p>Part of the answer to this question lies in the commission’s attention to the need for cultural change more generally. If we are to prevent family violence, we must change the <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-change-attitudes-to-family-violence-we-need-a-shift-in-gender-views-44718">attitudes and social conditions</a> that give rise to it.</p>
<p>At the heart of the recommended prevention strategy is an effort to redress the sociocultural power imbalance that devalues women and perpetuates gender inequality. This carries an understanding that wholesale cultural change is required to permanently eradicate family violence. Now is the time for precisely this same understanding about the need to challenge views that allow for the continued harm of children within the home. </p>
<p>Children’s experiences of violence have been overlooked for too long. If we seek to change the narrative that devalues women then we must also tackle the cultures of silence and secrecy that allow for the domination of children.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/">Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse</a> has indicated that cultures of secrecy function to minimise or conceal violence against children. The family violence royal commission has now found that the violence endured by children in the home has been dealt with only marginally. </p>
<p>Together, these findings convey a powerful message about the urgent need to create the cultural change necessary to ensure children’s well-being. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56801/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy O'Brien is a member of the Status of Women Committee with the United Nations Association of Australia. Prior to her current role at Deakin, Wendy conducted research on family violence at the Australian Crime Commission.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Fitz-Gibbon is Chair of the Barwon Centre Against Sexual Assault Board and a member of the Step Back Think Board of Directors. Her research on family violence has received funding from the Victorian Women's Trust and the Churchill Trust.</span></em></p>Children may endure family violence directly, or witness violence perpetrated on others. Both scenarios result in severe adverse effects for children in the short and long term.Wendy O'Brien, Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin UniversityKate Fitz-Gibbon, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/560342016-03-30T03:36:14Z2016-03-30T03:36:14ZRoyal commission calls for complete overhaul of Victoria’s family violence services and responses<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114584/original/image-20160310-31847-1qyntg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The royal commission’s report should be viewed as only the start of the necessary transformation of Victoria's family violence system.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/David Crosling</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Royal Commission into Family Violence’s <a href="http://files.rcfv.com.au/Reports/RCFV_Full_Report_Interactive.pdf">final report</a>, containing 227 recommendations, recommends drastic and much-needed change to Victoria’s responses to, and prevention of, family violence.</p>
<p>The seven-volume report and recommendations follow 13 months of evidence-gathering. The <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">commission</a> received more than <a href="https://theconversation.com/submissions-to-family-violence-royal-commission-reveal-a-fragmented-system-44502">1,000 written submissions</a>, held 44 group sessions attended by around 850 people, and had 25 days of public hearings – during which 220 witnesses gave evidence.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, given the breadth of the commission’s <a href="https://284532a540b00726ab7e-ff7c063c60e1f1cafc9413f00ac5293c.ssl.cf4.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/150119-Proposed-Terms-of-Reference2.pdf">terms of reference</a>, the recommendations seek a complete transformation of Victoria’s family violence services.</p>
<h2>Key recommendations</h2>
<p>The commission recommended the statewide establishment of 17 safety hubs. These would be designed as local entry points to specialist family violence services, perpetrator programs, and additional support services. </p>
<p>People will be able to approach a hub directly or be referred by another service. Hubs will conduct risk assessment and provide people with direct access to a range of relevant support services. </p>
<p>Recognising the value of specialist responses to family violence, the commission recommended the government ensure that, subject to exceptional circumstances, within five years a specialist family violence court hear all family violence matters. This on its own is a game-changer for legal responses to family violence. </p>
<p>Other court-based recommendations included greater resources for legal services and improvement of court facilities and infrastructure to better ensure victim safety when attending court.</p>
<p>The report provides clear recognition of the inability of intervention orders to keep victims safe. The commission recommended a range of long-awaited strategies to improve effectiveness of the serving, monitoring and overseeing of these orders. </p>
<p>The commission has not recommended the introduction of a specific family/domestic violence offence, as per the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/1D21D82F-5F9B-410F-BCB5-49061C1B5619/State-of-Victoria">state government’s submission</a>. However, the report makes it clear that perpetrators must be held to account, and that victims cannot be held responsible for managing their own safety. </p>
<p>The report highlights why jail terms for family violence offenders are not effective in deterring future offending. It makes several recommendations relating to Victoria’s perpetrator interventions and behaviour change programs.</p>
<p>There are a number of recommendations that relate to Victoria Police. These include greater training, prioritisation of family violence as “core business”, greater mobile technology to alleviate paperwork, and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/beware-the-unintended-consequences-of-police-worn-body-cameras-47882">introduction of body-worn cameras</a> for frontline officers. These cameras are already used in New South Wales.</p>
<p>The need for integration of services is woven throughout the report. The message is clear: no service working in isolation can adequately respond to the complexities of family violence incidents. Services must work together. </p>
<p>To facilitate this, the report provides multiple recommendations to facilitate information-sharing and management across services. These include new laws and the establishment of a central information point modelled on that in South Australia and England. </p>
<p>Other sections of the report focus on prevention, early intervention and recovery. Recognition is given to the heath system’s role in identifying family violence as well as the need for better support services that assist victims to recover. This includes providing adequate health support, secure housing, and financial assistance. </p>
<h2>Recognising diversity</h2>
<p>Forty-one recommendations are specifically related to diverse victims of family violence. These include recommendations to improve the accessibility of services and information to people with disability, Indigenous people, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, older people, and male victims.</p>
<p>This provides important recognition of the barriers that such victims have faced to date, and that family violence services and responses must be accessible to all. It is also a reminder that family violence affects all within our community. </p>
<p>The report also highlights the significant need to better provide for children and young people. Royal commissioner Marcia Neave described children as the:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… silent victims of family violence. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116724/original/image-20160330-28468-11cmova.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116724/original/image-20160330-28468-11cmova.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116724/original/image-20160330-28468-11cmova.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116724/original/image-20160330-28468-11cmova.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116724/original/image-20160330-28468-11cmova.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116724/original/image-20160330-28468-11cmova.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116724/original/image-20160330-28468-11cmova.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children can be the ‘silent victims’ of domestic and family violence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The question of funding</h2>
<p>One of the most important questions to emerge immediately from the commission’s report relates to funding. How much and when? </p>
<p>Many recommendations highlight the need for greater investment in the system. In the short term, the report recommends immediate funding for crisis housing as part of a “housing blitz”, and to boost support services that will likely experience a surge in demand in the coming days and weeks. </p>
<p>There are initial savings from the commission itself. The commission was given a A$36 million budget, of which it spent $13.5 million. The report recommends that the remaining $22.5 million be redirected to help fund the government’s immediate response to the report. </p>
<p>In 2014-15, the Victorian government allocated $80.6 million to family violence. The costs of meeting the commission’s recommendations will far outweigh that amount.</p>
<p>The government has not yet announced the level of funding it will allocate to family violence in its next budget. But Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said after the report’s release that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is not about saving money. It is about saving lives. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This sentiment will hopefully translate into substantial investment and secure funding for support, specialist, crisis and legal services. </p>
<h2>Ensuring better accountability</h2>
<p>The need for greater oversight, review and performance measures are woven throughout the report. When implemented, this provides hope for a response to family violence that at all levels holds greater accountability and for which performance will be continually reviewed and managed. </p>
<p>Under this model, recognised failings that have long permeated Victoria’s responses to family violence will hopefully not continue to go unnoticed and unchanged. </p>
<p>By including recommended timeframes for implementation of the majority of the recommendations, the report ensures the government will be held to account. It also recommends the government produce a ten-year action plan, and establish an independent monitoring agency. </p>
<p>Funding and action will be essential. The commission’s report should be viewed as only the start of the necessary transformation of the system. With the approach mapped out, there is now much work to be done in ensuring that real change and better outcomes are achieved.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Kate will be on hand for an Author Q&A between midday and 1pm AEDT on Thursday, March 31, 2016. Post your questions in the comments section below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56034/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Fitz-Gibbon is Chair of the Barwon Centre Against Sexual Assault Board and a member of the Step Back Think Board of Directors. Her research on family violence has received funding from the Victorian Women's Trust and the Churchill Trust. </span></em></p>The royal commission’s recommendations seek a complete transformation of Victorian family violence services, and the state’s prevention of and response to family violence.Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/498102015-11-11T00:02:56Z2015-11-11T00:02:56ZA small act to give abused children a voice<p>The <a href="https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/">Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse</a> is shifting its attention from Brisbane Grammar to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-09/child-abuse-royal-commission-brisbane-st-pauls-school/6923996">St Paul’s School</a>. In two weeks’ time, the commission will return to issues in Melbourne and Ballarat. Anglican, non-denominational and Catholic institutions in different states are being scrutinised.</p>
<p>The adults who survived the abuse finally get the opportunity they were denied as children: to describe the abuse, after years of being silenced, and to identify the perpetrators and those who failed to listen and protect them.</p>
<p>Other adults are called to explain what they did, if anything, to protect the children and to stop the offenders. They will be asked about what was done to silence the children and to protect the institution. Some of these people are important – for example, Cardinal George Pell and former governor-general Peter Hollingworth.</p>
<p>The silencing of children has as long a history as child abuse itself. So many myths are used to silence children and minimise crimes: children were said to lie, fantasise and be seductive. </p>
<p>Neerosh Mudaly and I wrote a <a href="http://www.jkp.com/uk/the-truth-is-longer-than-a-lie.html">2006 book</a> about children’s experiences of abuse and professional interventions, The Truth is Longer Than a Lie, which has now been adapted for <a href="http://www.theatrepeople.com.au/the-truth-is-longer-than-a-lie-says-playwright-kieran-carroll/">a play</a> of the same name. Its premiere is in Melbourne on November 11.</p>
<h2>Even when prosecuted, crimes are still minimised</h2>
<p>Prior to a <a href="http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/speeches/anzatsa-7th-biennial-conference">speech</a> last week by the chair of the royal commission, Peter McClellan, The Australian <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/in-depth/royal-commission-refers-800-sex-abuse-cases-to-police/story-fngburq5-1227596533412?sv=c665da0f7de34531b9357e4ec1fe952c">reported</a> that almost 800 cases of child sexual abuse had been referred to police, with 23 prosecutions begun.</p>
<p>Sadly, even when children are listened to and prosecution of the perpetrators begins, the minimisation of the crimes continues. </p>
<p>As Mudaly and I have <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/crimes-cloaked-in-euphemisms/story-e6frg6zo-1226121529565">written</a>, when prosecutions occur, the crimes may be “cloaked in euphemisms”. A man who repeatedly sexually assaults a child may be charged with “maintaining a sexual relationship” with that child, not multiple rapes. Imagine the outcry if a man who repeatedly raped a woman was charged with “maintaining a relationship” with her.</p>
<p>Other language and other professions continue the minimisation, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Kneejerk-reactions-wont-help-in-fight-against-child-sexual-abuse/2005/02/28/1109546794104.html">the silencing of children</a>. The child rapist may be called a “paedophile”, originally meaning “lover of children”. Imagine the response if a man who raped women was called a “gynophile”.</p>
<p>State and federal governments join the law and other professions in obstructing justice for children who have been abused. In our report, <a href="http://www.capra.monash.org/assets/files/theycountfornothing.pdf">They Count for Nothing</a>, we noted that the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) used a public health model to develop a <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/families-and-children/publications-articles/protecting-children-is-everyones-business">National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children</a>. The first step in such an approach is to gather quality child abuse and protection data. Unfortunately, high-quality data are not available in Australia.</p>
<p>I gave some examples of this in my appearance before the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence</a>. Even the definitions of “child” vary. In New South Wales, <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/national-comparison-child-protection-systems">for example</a>, the mandatory reporting obligation does not include young people aged 16 or 17.</p>
<p>Every year, there is extraordinary variation in the substantiation rates. In the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129550762">Child Protection Australia 2013-14</a>, the rates of sexual abuse vary from almost 20% of all substantiations in WA to only 2.4% in the NT. Neglect comprises only 5% of cases in Victoria, compared to almost 50% in the ACT.</p>
<p>In his speech, McClellan referred to the analysis of almost 2800 private sessions conducted by the royal commission (I supported a victim in one of these). In arguing for a national redress scheme for victims, he argued that “survivors would be treated equally regardless of the institution, or place in Australia, in which they were abused”. </p>
<p>Justice for children demands this, whether the abuse occurs in the family or in an institution.</p>
<h2>Why listening is the key to protection</h2>
<p>Those of us who have worked in child protection have powerful, painful memories of the silencing of children. Some children were silenced because they were too young or too damaged, like the boy I saw in hospital dying of skull fractures too numerous to count.</p>
<p>There are also memories of conversations with children. The child in the back seat of the car, only her eyes visible in my rear-view mirror, as I drove her with a colleague to foster care: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>You know what he does to me, don’t you?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Then there was the teenage boy rescued (not a fashionable word now) from a brutal household after being repeatedly beaten by his mother and stepfather. A small, fragile young person, stroking a formidable, stamping, snorting racehorse, proud of his new job as a stablehand, while I cowered behind the half-closed stable door. “You know what I like about this job?” he asked me, as I half-listened, very nervously. “Horses can’t hurt you.”</p>
<p>The greatest insight into the failures of child protection and the silencing of children came from the interviews Mudaly undertook with children who had been abused. Addressing the ethical issues, balancing our belief that children have a right to be heard but also need to be protected from further harm, meant that the work took several years to complete.</p>
<p>It was a 12-year-old girl who so clearly defined for us what a professional’s role should be in working with children. She told us that they:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… are supposed to listen, they’re not supposed to sit there and tell you what you’re thinking or what you’re feeling …</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The girl went on to give us the title of our book, and now the play by <a href="http://kierancarroll.com/">Kieran Carroll</a>, as she reflected upon her experiences in the child protection system:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… that’s always the problem with these people. They don’t want to believe the truth, they just want to believe the easiest side … so then they get paid and go on to the next one and just pick the simplest out of that. They don’t want to hear the truth because the truth is much harder to understand and so much longer than a lie about the truth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The ongoing royal commission daily demonstrates that not listening to children costs us all very dearly and that, in every part of Australia, the truth about child abuse is longer than a lie.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101348/original/image-20151110-29309-1bt7lox.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101348/original/image-20151110-29309-1bt7lox.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101348/original/image-20151110-29309-1bt7lox.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101348/original/image-20151110-29309-1bt7lox.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101348/original/image-20151110-29309-1bt7lox.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101348/original/image-20151110-29309-1bt7lox.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101348/original/image-20151110-29309-1bt7lox.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101348/original/image-20151110-29309-1bt7lox.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://us3.campaign-archive1.com/?u=392dadc1fef35d80f94caae58&id=8e543752cf&e=459c714399">Monash University/Type Faster Productions</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>The play, The Truth is Longer Than a Lie, is being <a href="http://www.ticketebo.com.au/type-faster-productions-and-monash-university/the-truth-is-longer-than-a-lie.html">staged at the Richmond Theatre</a> in Richmond, Victoria, from November 11 to 22.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49810/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Goddard consults to the Australian Childhood Foundation.</span></em></p>The silencing of children has as long a history as child abuse itself. It is why we need royal commissions, books, and now a play: to allow children to tell us the truth of what was done to them.Chris Goddard, Adjunct Professor, Child Abuse Prevention Research Australia, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/455922015-08-11T20:34:35Z2015-08-11T20:34:35ZActing on family violence: how the health system can step up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91261/original/image-20150810-11097-txayp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's estimated general practitioners see up to five abused women every week.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajay13/8788680283/in/photolist-eoChsp-j4Z16k-L7GYi-9s3iZm-atPGkx-91EVdy-ppoGu2-vP8SaY-cxm8dJ-n9Ex3z-7UHyig-kVkx24-9szkWh-6tkNag-7Q2htb-Bdzqn-r7c2Xo-cip6fS-ajqBBq-a1vpRx-5TxxkF-gyZCy1-b6ixja-uU64KP-nsJmh2-vWqf47-kx9i3B-6UMsE7-">Aikawa Ke/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The health system has a vital role in ensuring doctors and nurses provide an appropriate, first-line response to victims of family violence. But it’s lagging behind. Today, I’ll be telling the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Public-Hearings">Victorian Government’s Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> how the health system can step up to the challenge.</p>
<p>At least <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/6442E593-04E1-4C3D-839E-AEFFD15D00CC/Melbourne-Research-Alliance-to-End-Violence-Against-Women-and-Their-Children">80% of women</a> experiencing abuse seek help from health services, usually general practice. It’s <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-842X.2002.tb00344.x/abstract">estimated</a> a general practitioner sees up to five abused women weekly who <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/85241/1/WHO_RHR_HRP_13.06_eng.pdf?ua=1">present with symptoms</a> of violence in the home. Some patients suffer depression, anxiety and long-term headaches. For others, the stress of abuse can lead to premature labour or even miscarriage. Doctors treat the symptoms and often don’t ask about the cause; women sometimes don’t tell.</p>
<p>There are currently <a href="http://www.racgp.org.au/your-practice/guidelines/whitebook/">excellent guidelines</a> some health professionals follow, but others don’t. This isn’t enough. Health professionals need compulsory training to ensure better health and safety outcomes for women and children experiencing domestic violence. Only an organisational shift can make this happen. Practitioners need a supportive environment and changes in health system protocols and polices. </p>
<p>It should be noted that many of the studies in this area are based on women, as they are the <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-change-attitudes-to-family-violence-we-need-a-shift-in-gender-views-44718">main victims</a> of severe physical and sexual abuse. But the same principles apply to male victims.</p>
<h2>Removing barriers</h2>
<p>Women face many <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21160053">barriers</a> to discussing family violence with professionals. They include shame, worries about being judged or disbelieved, and confidentiality concerns. Many doctors have had <a href="http://metatoc.com/papers/46353-are-future-doctors-taught-to-respond-to-intimate-partner-violence-a-study-of-australian-medical-schools">minimal to no training</a> in dealing with the effects of partner violence. Some don’t have the time to respond adequately if a patient discloses their experience.</p>
<p>Policymakers and researchers have suggested <a href="http://www.cochrane.org/CD007007/BEHAV_screening-women-intimate-partner-violence-healthcare-settings">screening</a> (asking all women attending a clinic or hospital a standard set of questions) to overcome these barriers and help doctors and nurses identify patients experiencing family violence. </p>
<p>Screening may sound like a good idea but many practitioners are <a href="https://theconversation.com/midwives-can-help-detect-domestic-violence-heres-how-37918">reluctant</a> to use it. They might feel overwhelmed by the emotional task of responding to disclosures. Further, health professionals sometimes have their <a href="http://www.stfm.org/FamilyMedicine/Vol44Issue6/Candib416">own experience</a> of family violence which, if recent, might hinder their willingness to bring it up with patients.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91281/original/image-20150810-11097-1vxg8qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91281/original/image-20150810-11097-1vxg8qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91281/original/image-20150810-11097-1vxg8qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91281/original/image-20150810-11097-1vxg8qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91281/original/image-20150810-11097-1vxg8qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91281/original/image-20150810-11097-1vxg8qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91281/original/image-20150810-11097-1vxg8qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women face many barriers to discussing family violence with professionals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although screening helps identify some women experiencing domestic violence, the numbers are still lower than expected. Screening also doesn’t increase referrals to specialist services or improve women’s health outcomes. A US <a href="http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2422536&linkId=15934037">study</a> released last week showed no long-term health benefits to women who were screened and provided with a partner violence resource list. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241548595/en/">World Health Organisation</a> doesn’t recommend screening in health settings unless the woman is pregnant. A <a href="http://www.cochrane.org/CD007007/BEHAV_screening-women-intimate-partner-violence-healthcare-settings">global review</a> of more than a dozen studies has backed up this advice. It concludes the small amount of existing evidence shows identification increases but has little benefit to women. </p>
<h2>Training professionals</h2>
<p>The lack of evidence for screening doesn’t mean doctors and nurses shouldn’t use <a href="http://www.addictioneducation.co.uk/BMJ%20article%202008.pdf">prompting questions</a> to investigate whether family violence is present when women and children show recognised symptoms. If patients <a href="http://www.pec-journal.com/article/S0738-3991(13)00311-X/pdf">feel ready</a> to disclose abuse, health professionals should show <a href="http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241548595/en">empathy</a> and follow up with <a href="http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/documents-and-resources/policies,-guidelines-and-legislation/family-violence-risk-assessment-risk-management-framework-manual">safety questions</a>. Women <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/136101/1/WHO_RHR_14.26_eng.pdf?ua=1">should be</a> listened to, believed, asked about their needs, have their risk and safety assessed and be offered ongoing support.</p>
<p>Some women are ready for referrals at the point of disclosure. For the many who aren’t, studies have suggested family doctors be trained to provide supportive counselling. This <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)60052-5/fulltext">has been shown</a> to reduce depressive symptoms in women experiencing abuse. </p>
<p>Advocacy is also beneficial. This is where appropriately trained <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/7658230_A_randomized_controlled_trial_of_empowerment_training_for_Chinese_abused_women_in_Hong_Kong">health-care providers</a> or specialist family violence services give women information and psychological support to access community resources. Survivors can be linked with legal, police, housing and financial services. Advocacy and support intervention <a href="http://www.cochrane.org/CD005043/BEHAV_advocacy-interventions-to-help-women-who-experience-intimate-partner-abuse">trials</a> for women who have sought help from shelters report reductions in violence and improvements in mental health. </p>
<p>For training to be effective, it must be provided as part of university courses and throughout a practitioner’s career. Health professionals usually respond best when they are trained by a peer. Effective training also involves role-playing asking and responding with actors, reflections on personal attitudes towards violence against women, hearing survivor stories and reviewing patients’ files.</p>
<p>While doctors’ and nurses’ ability to respond appropriately when they suspect family violence is vital, it can only work if the broader <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61837-7/fulltext">health system</a> is supportive of women-centred care.</p>
<h2>Health system response</h2>
<p>A whole-of-system response involves an appropriate, sensitive environment for <a href="http://www.asca.org.au/Home.aspx">traumatised people</a>, <a href="https://www.thewomens.org.au/news/dr-sue-matthews-opinion-in-the-age/">strong management support</a> for the importance of the work, and practitioner support and mentoring. In the <a href="https://xnet.kp.org/domesticviolence/about/index.html">United States</a>, some of these system changes have led to a dramatic increase in numbers identified. </p>
<p>Governments should create policies to facilitate referral pathways for health professionals, both internally and externally, with community services. Policies should also ensure data collection and information-sharing between agencies. Health settings can create supportive environments with leaflets and posters promoting awareness about family violence consultations and referrals.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth government could add Medicare item numbers for general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers (with family violence training) – similar to the current <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-ba-fact-pat">mental health care plans</a> – to undertake safety planning. These would allow for longer, half-an-hour sessions.</p>
<p>State governments can:</p>
<ul>
<li>Allocate funding for regional health services to have family violence coordinators and for every hospital to have a clinical professional implement organisational change.</li>
<li>Allocate finances to overstretched family violence services for women, children and men.</li>
<li> Fund trauma-informed counselling for <a href="http://www.berrystreet.org.au/Assets/1252/1/Turtleprogrambrochure.pdf">mothers and children</a>, as <a href="http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241548595/en">recommended</a> by the World Health Organization. This would help fill Australia’s chasm of referral options, particularly for women and children who have left the relationship.</li>
</ul>
<p>Finally, we must ensure the health recommendations heard at the Royal Commission today lead to practical outcomes. If health professionals continue to only treat symptoms of family violence, the cycle of women’s physical and mental deterioration and damage to children will continue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45592/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelsey Hegarty received funding from NHMRC for the weave trial. She has been a Temporary Clinical Advisor for the WHO and an author on the Cochrane Clinical Reviews.</span></em></p>Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence will today hear how the health system can better respond to partner abuse, with the help of trained professionals and broader, government support.Kelsey Hegarty, Professor, Department of General Practice; Director of Researching Abuse and Violence in Primary Care program; Director of Post graduate Primary Care Nursing, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/450412015-07-22T20:12:27Z2015-07-22T20:12:27ZNot just a slick TV ad: what makes a good domestic violence awareness campaign?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89284/original/image-20150722-31237-fcdwri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For awareness campaigns to succeed, people need to relate to the message.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-214547947/stock-photo-woman-with-her-hand-extended-signaling-to-stop-only-her-hand-is-in-focus.html?src=grhRTZUgUQD0Ni5tdbjFWw-1-77">Dean Drobot/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au">Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> on Friday turned its attention to public awareness campaigns and the vexed issue of how to change community attitudes in order to reduce rates of domestic violence. </p>
<p>The federal government has <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-03-04/national-awareness-campaign-reduce-violence-against-women-and-children">committed A$30 million</a> to a campaign to raise awareness and encourage Australians to speak out against domestic violence. </p>
<p>Australia has had previous domestic violence <a href="http://websearch.aic.gov.au/firstaicPublic/fullRecord.jsp?recno=268600">awareness campaigns</a>. There are also a number of organisations currently working to raise awareness. <a href="http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/what-is-white-ribbon">White Ribbon</a>, a national initiative led by men to reduce violence towards women, for example, launched in 2003. And the <a href="http://www.oneinthree.com.au">1 in 3</a> Campaign, which aims to raise public awareness of the existence and needs of male victims, launched in 2009. </p>
<p>So, what should a national, taxpayer-funded domestic violence campaign look like? And what can we hope to achieve?</p>
<p>Awareness-raising/media campaigns are <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=AuxMBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA77&dq=difficulty+evaluating+media+campaigns&ots=kEB0XneTYD&sig=BNRfk02h1Lj5LOViNjv4gHNrHPc#v=onepage&q&f=false">difficult to evaluate</a> and there is no clear evidence that, in isolation, they prevent violence. </p>
<p>There is some evidence that domestic violence campaigns targeting perpetrators can be effective, particularly when they focus on motivators such as the <a href="http://smq.sagepub.com/content/5/3/127.short">impact on children</a>. There is also evidence that campaigns targeting discrete communities, such as university campuses, have been successful in changing attitudes towards <a href="http://vaw.sagepub.com/content/21/2/165.short">observed violence</a>. </p>
<p>However, what we need to do at a community level is to shift social norms and change behaviours – both complex outcomes that take more than just media messages. Many public awareness campaigns fail to bring about changes in attitudes and behaviours because they start from the flawed premise that just telling someone something is bad will make them stop doing it. </p>
<p>For awareness campaigns to succeed they need to:</p>
<ul>
<li>ensure people can relate to the message </li>
<li>clearly communicate what the problem is and we want them to do </li>
<li>address the barriers (such as social norms)</li>
<li>provide services and resources to support behaviour change. </li>
</ul>
<p>Public awareness campaigns work well when the target audience knows they are the target audience. This is easier when the target is a specific group (BreastScreen, for instance, is only talking to <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2015-ley035.htm">women aged 50 to 74</a>), but harder when the target is the general population. It is difficult to develop a message that clearly talks to everyone. But if we are to achieve the goal of raising community awareness and changing community attitudes, we need everyone to be listening. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89293/original/image-20150722-31234-7cmhfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89293/original/image-20150722-31234-7cmhfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89293/original/image-20150722-31234-7cmhfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89293/original/image-20150722-31234-7cmhfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89293/original/image-20150722-31234-7cmhfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89293/original/image-20150722-31234-7cmhfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89293/original/image-20150722-31234-7cmhfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Campaigns targeting discrete communities, such as university campuses, have been successful in changing attitudes towards observed violence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/merrimack/5100842480/">Merrimack College/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public awareness campaigns work well when the behaviour they are discouraging is illegal and people believe they will be caught and punished. Drink driving campaigns work in part because they are implemented in conjunction with <a href="http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(04)00046-7/abstract?cc=y=">monitoring and enforcement</a>. Secondary supply campaigns don’t work in part because people are confident <a href="http://works.bepress.com/sjones/102/">they won’t get caught</a>. </p>
<p>If a domestic violence campaign is targeting perpetrators, there are penalties for those convicted (although there is no doubt they <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-30/victims-call-for-introduction-of-tougher-laws-to-combat-abuse/5474070">are inadequate</a>). However, when the campaign is targeting the broader community, there is no law against doing nothing (except for people working in professions that are required to report <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/mandatory-reporting-child-abuse-and-neglect">suspected child abuse</a>). For the rest of us, there are no penalties for doing nothing, but a feeling of discomfort or embarrassment about <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-dont-we-speak-up-when-we-see-signs-of-domestic-violence-32022">doing something</a>. </p>
<p>Public awareness campaigns work well when they are targeting a behaviour that is easy to understand and easy to detect. Anti-littering campaigns work in part because throwing rubbish out the car window is clearly “wrong” and is publicly visible. </p>
<p>Domestic violence happens in people’s homes (so we generally don’t see it occur) and the general public is not always sure <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-18/charts-attitudes-to-violence-against-women/5750014">what domestic violence</a> <em>is</em> (is it when a man belittles his spouse or only if he hits her?). </p>
<p>At a community level, is it condoning domestic violence when we sing along to a misogynistic song? Is it when we rent a <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/wicked-camper-van-slogans-labelled-violent-sexist-20150411-1mj4k2.html">camper van</a> emblazoned with “I’ve often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can’t get my wife to go swimming?” Karen Edwards, whose daughter was drowned by her partner, <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11437900">thinks it is</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89297/original/image-20150722-31203-1yi5293.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89297/original/image-20150722-31203-1yi5293.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89297/original/image-20150722-31203-1yi5293.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89297/original/image-20150722-31203-1yi5293.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89297/original/image-20150722-31203-1yi5293.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89297/original/image-20150722-31203-1yi5293.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89297/original/image-20150722-31203-1yi5293.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Condoning domestic violence?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/6966769573/in/photolist-bBCvSM-6Tswo2-7dGRAA-4FGGny-bWxrVY-cDgTNy-36GzYS-4jqKau-bXmcmL-3a6Y9x-d6LP1o-36GyJ7-bqZgj1-d45Fj3-dc8iEo-dDaajY-6WrnQC-3eKx8U-cn7tAu-bwGW2-c8ndKs-cYJJdQ-ctHmg9-d7Q9oq-criSm5-bXmbSy-d7Q9yy-bnGbG-c9uDwb-cS4YHS-cxRbaA-c8XjZJ-bZEo37-dD4Mwp-d5wErN-c8Xizu-bwGW4-cX3Fg5-bnGbH-uHHis5-bvy23-dBUbBg-bBbtv-9KYjCx-bnGbJ-cYJGwo-cwAXbJ-bZEovC-dedgx8-d6c4hb">Michael Coghlan/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public awareness campaigns work well when the target audience knows what it is we want them to do. The SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Tkzd3jA2nykJ:https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/nics/material_resources/reducing_risk_sid_syndrome.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au&client=safari">campaign</a> was effective in part because the message was simple – put your baby to sleep on their back not their front. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89290/original/image-20150722-31206-io07lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89290/original/image-20150722-31206-io07lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89290/original/image-20150722-31206-io07lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89290/original/image-20150722-31206-io07lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89290/original/image-20150722-31206-io07lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89290/original/image-20150722-31206-io07lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89290/original/image-20150722-31206-io07lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89290/original/image-20150722-31206-io07lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The safest place for a baby to sleep is on their back, with their feet meeting the foot of the bed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sids and Kids</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If we want to change community attitudes and behaviours in the context of domestic violence, we need to clearly communicate what we want the community to do. If we want them to speak up when they see or suspect domestic violence, we need to tell them what to say and who to say it to. </p>
<p>Public awareness campaigns work well when they are accompanied by <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673610608094">resources and support services</a> that assist the target audience to do what it is we are asking them to do. Anti-smoking campaigns have been successful in part because they have been accompanied by increases in the <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2007.128991">cost of cigarettes</a> and the provision of <a href="http://www.quitnow.gov.au">services to help people quit</a>. </p>
<p>If the audience is perpetrators, we need to provide referral pathways and anger management services. If the audience is victims, we need to provide counselling and accommodation services. If the audience is the general public, we need to ensure they have access to help lines and other resources for education and advice. Successful programs are also built on a <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61703-7/abstract">platform of systemic change</a> to address risk factors at the individual and community level. </p>
<p>There is no doubt that we need a government-funded awareness campaign to address domestic violence. However, we need one that has the maximum likelihood of making a real change (not just one that ticks a box on the list of recommendations). </p>
<p>Let’s encourage our government to develop an awareness campaign that:</p>
<ul>
<li>is carefully tested to ensure that it speaks to everyone in the community (not one that allows us to continue to see domestic violence as someone else’s problem)</li>
<li>demystifies domestic violence, and expands our definition beyond physical violence to any deliberate action that causes physical or emotional harm </li>
<li>convinces the community that it is wrong to condone domestic violence of any form; we may not be able to legislate against doing nothing, but we need to make it socially unacceptable</li>
<li>clearly communicates what we want the community to do and gives them confidence to do it</li>
<li>is accompanied by adequate resourcing of on-the-ground services (for victims, perpetrators, and the broader community).</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45041/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandra Jones holds an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. She receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Healthway, FARE, Movember Foundation, WA Drug and Alcohol Office, and Medibank.</span></em></p>Many public awareness campaigns fail to change attitudes and behaviours because they start from the flawed premise that just telling someone something is bad will make them stop doing it.Sandra Jones, Professor and Director of the Centre for Health and Social Research , Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/447182015-07-21T20:17:06Z2015-07-21T20:17:06ZTo change attitudes to family violence, we need a shift in gender views<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88912/original/image-20150719-8615-cte1f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There has been a dramatic decline in understanding that it is mainly men who perpetrate domestic violence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In her <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/Transcripts/Transcript-RCFV_Day-001_13-Jul-2015_Public.pdf">opening statement</a> at the public hearings of Victoria’s <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">Royal Commission into Family Violence</a>, commissioner Marcia Neave said family violence’s causes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… are deeply embedded in community attitudes about gender, and about what is and what is not legitimate and appropriate between intimate partners and within families.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The commission’s remit is to “provide practical recommendations on how Victoria’s response to family violence can be improved”. This is an overdue examination and a highly commendable intention, as is the issue being high on the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/medicare-levy-should-go-up-andrews-to-tell-coag/story-fn59nokw-1227448225615">COAG agenda</a> this week. But to reduce family violence, we need to examine the culture of masculinity and the way we socialise our children into gender roles.</p>
<h2>What’s the role of gender in family violence?</h2>
<p>In Australia, 95% of all victims of violence (both males and females) <a href="http://violenceagainstwomenandchildren.com/documents-working-papers/">experienced violence</a> from a male perpetrator. This includes physical or sexual assault, or threats.</p>
<p>When we start to look at the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4906.02012?OpenDocument">relationship</a> between perpetrator and victim, we can see clearly that the gender dynamics are even more important to consider. </p>
<p>Family members <a href="http://violenceagainstwomenandchildren.com/documents-working-papers/">perpetrated</a> more than half (52%) of reported acts of violence against women, compared with less than one-fifth (18%) of the reported violence against men. Family members include current and previous partners, dating partners, parents, siblings and other relatives.</p>
<p>An opposite-gendered intimate partner <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4906.02012?OpenDocument">perpetrated</a> most of the reported <a href="http://violenceagainstwomenandchildren.com/documents-working-papers/">family-related</a> violent incidents. This made up one in three reports for women and one in ten reports for men. The second-most-common relationship category was violence by a male parent against both females (3%) and males (2%).</p>
<h2>What we know about perpetrators of violence</h2>
<p>There has been very little population-level research asking men about their perpetration of violence. The existing studies have been conducted outside Australia and have used a range of methodologies and definitions of violence.</p>
<p>Two recent population-based studies conducted by the United Nations across nine Asia-Pacific countries <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS2214-109X(13)70074-3/abstract">found</a> that between 26% and 80% of men disclosed having perpetrated physical or sexual intimate partner violence. Between 3% and 27% <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(13)70069-X">disclosed</a> non-partner rape.</p>
<p>In a US community <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ab.20107/abstract">sample</a> of unmarried men, 25% reported having perpetrated at least one act of attempted or completed rape since the age of 14. A further 39% reported that they had engaged in some form of forced sex or verbal coercion.</p>
<p>The same data for children and young people less than 15 years old is not <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/who-abuses-children">easily available</a>. Abuse and neglect of children is not always measured according to relationship, but by presence in the family. For example, psychological and emotional harm to children caused by witnessing a father’s violence toward a mother may be recorded as a child experiencing violence in the family. </p>
<p>Harm to children may also be attributed to one parent even when caused by the other parent. This is particularly the case for mothers who may be accused of “failing to protect” a child. The <a href="http://www.dvrcv.org.au/knowledge-centre/our-publications/discussion-papers/bad-mothers-invisible-fathers">perpetrating parent</a> is often not held to account for their behaviour. </p>
<h2>Why community attitudes to family violence matter</h2>
<p>As recently as 2012, when Australians were <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/2013-national-community-attitudes-towards-violence-against-women-survey">asked</a> “who is perpetrating domestic violence?”, there was a substantial decline in understanding that it is mainly men who perpetrate domestic violence. Increasingly, there has been a misunderstanding that domestic violence is perpetrated by both men and women equally. </p>
<p>Intimate partner violence is still not well understood. The results identified that Australians still <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-still-trivialise-and-excuse-violence-against-women-31420">trivialise and excuse violence</a> against women. </p>
<p>Attitudes that trivialise, excuse or justify violence against women – as well as attitudes that minimise the impact or shift blame from the perpetrator to the victim – are labelled <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/2013-national-community-attitudes-towards-violence-against-women-survey">violence-supportive</a> attitudes. Individuals who hold violence-supportive attitudes are not necessarily “violent-prone” or would openly condone violence against women. </p>
<p>However, when influential people express these attitudes or a substantial number of people hold them, it can <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01279.x/abstract">create a culture</a> in which a behaviour is not clearly condemned and at worst condoned or encouraged. These attitudes in effect allow violence to continue to exist in the community. They prevent many victims and witnesses from reporting violence in the family.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88725/original/image-20150716-5092-1ea9rbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88725/original/image-20150716-5092-1ea9rbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88725/original/image-20150716-5092-1ea9rbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88725/original/image-20150716-5092-1ea9rbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88725/original/image-20150716-5092-1ea9rbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88725/original/image-20150716-5092-1ea9rbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88725/original/image-20150716-5092-1ea9rbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Who perpetrates violence against women?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NCAS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Links between family violence and gender attitudes</h2>
<p>Resistance to confronting and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-dont-we-speak-up-when-we-see-signs-of-domestic-violence-32022">reporting violence</a> can be linked to a number of barriers. However, underlying causes of violence in the family can be traced to gender and power relationships in the family. </p>
<p>Family violence is complex and multi-layered. It encompasses individual characteristics as well as community and organisational influences (including community attitudes). These are in turn underpinned by broader social structures and public policies perpetuated through the media, law and social norms of power and control. </p>
<p>All of this sits against the historic and contemporary context in which power and resources are <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf">unequally distributed</a> between men and women in both public and private life. Socially constructed <a href="http://www.springer.com/us/book/9780387732039">gender roles</a>, relationships and identities support these inequalities. </p>
<p>Inequality, and the elements supporting it, are key to <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-political-economy-of-violence-against-women-9780199755912?cc=au&lang=en&">understanding violence against women</a> – both within and outside the home.</p>
<p>In the privacy of the family institution there are few constraining safeguards against violence. Under these conditions, power <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perspectives-social-Aldine-treatises-psychology/dp/0202251179">may</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… change power holders in ways that are conducive to de-humanisation. This happens when those with coercive power over others have few safeguards for constraining their behaviour. Power holders come to devalue those over whom they wield control.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Attitudes to gender equality were the <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/2013-national-community-attitudes-towards-violence-against-women-survey">strongest predictors</a> of violence-supportive attitudes. They were stronger than other characteristics such as the level of education and social disadvantage. </p>
<p>Family violence remains a deeply embedded issue because, as a society, we fear naming gender inequality. Recognising gender inequality threatens the deepest fabric of society.</p>
<h2>Changing attitudes</h2>
<p>Community attitudes to violence against women are an important barometer of gender relations. They illustrate whether victims feel confident to seek help and whether perpetrators are likely to be excused or held to account for their actions. </p>
<p>Changing attitudes is crucial to preventing crises in the longer term as is a re-examination of the <a href="http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/uploads/media/WR-PR-Series-Flood-Report-No-2-Nov-2010-full-report-final.pdf">role of men</a> in relationships and definitions of <a href="https://www.academia.edu/10441399/Men_s_Anti-violence_Activism_and_the_Construction_of_Gender-equitable_Masculinities">masculinity</a>.</p>
<p>Fortunately, both masculinity and attitudes are known to be socially constructed and <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Icek_Ajzen/publication/264000974_The_influence_of_attitudes_on_behavior/links/00b7d53c7dea81c846000000.pdf">can be linked</a> to expression as behaviour. Therefore, both can be changed.</p>
<p>Attitudes are not innate, immutable features of individuals. Rather, they are <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115920">socially constructed</a> via exposure to both cultural influences – for example, prevailing norms about the roles of men and women – and structural arrangements, such as the extent of participation of women in education.</p>
<p>However, strategies that seek to change attitudes alone – such as community education or social marketing campaigns – are unlikely to be effective unless they are part of a <a href="http://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30017651/pease-rethinkingthesignificance-2008.pdf">broader range</a> of strategies targeting behaviour via social and other sanctions. This can include law reform, policy change in organisations, incentives or strong leadership against violence-supportive cultures.</p>
<p>It is more effective to seek to change behaviours by directly targeting programs to change behaviour. This is done in the understanding that attitude change will follow.</p>
<p>Finally, and most importantly, there is <a href="http://www.cordeliafine.com/delusions_of_gender.html">little merit</a> in the gender essentialist theory that male and female brains are responsible for gender behaviour. “Let boys be boys and girls be girls” is a product of social conditioning, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/the-alan-saunders-lecture/6606398">rather than biology</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: The paragraph “In Australia, 95% of all victims of violence (both males and females) experienced violence from a male perpetrator. This includes physical or sexual assault, or threats.” was amended for clarity post-publication.</em></p>
<p><em>This article was written in collaboration with Kim Webster, co-author of the National Community Attitudes towards Violence Against Women Survey 2012 report.</em></p>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Kristin will be on hand for an Author Q&A between 3 and 4pm AEST on Wednesday, July 22. Post your questions in the comments section below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44718/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristin Diemer received funding from VicHealth for working on the 2012 National Community Attitudes Survey and participates in the Stakeholder Advisory Group for the ABS Personal Safety Survey.</span></em></p>To reduce family violence, we need to examine the culture of masculinity and the way we socialise our children into gender roles.Kristin Diemer, Senior Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/445022015-07-14T01:22:07Z2015-07-14T01:22:07ZSubmissions to family violence royal commission reveal a fragmented system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88177/original/image-20150713-9484-myahtx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The public hearings of Victoria's royal commission mark the next stage of changing how we see, and respond to, family violence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/David Crosling</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Monday, the public hearings for Victoria’s <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/">Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> began. </p>
<p>The public hearings follow the completion of community consultations and the close of written submissions in late May. Nearly 1000 Victorians – advocates, experts and policy stakeholders – provided submissions to the commission. They called for change in the justice, health, social and economic responses to family violence in Victoria.</p>
<p>The extent of change needed is captured in the Victorian government’s <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/3063A44B-D3B7-40E1-8E02-032272157AA4/State-of-Victoria">detailed submission</a>. It described the family violence system as “fragmented” and resulting in “poor outcomes”. </p>
<p>Further demonstrating the extent of change needed, the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/39E5644D-0E13-4E23-9A46-5669763B37EA/Federation-of-Community-Legal-Centres-(FCLC)">Federation of Community Legal Centres</a> set out 63 recommendations for change. <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/440B6C34-0343-48CB-B109-67787D44972D/Victoria-Police">Victoria Police</a> provided detailed proposals for a victim-centric system based on perpetrator accountability and the delivery of “effective, efficient, dynamic” services.</p>
<h2>A ‘world-class system’</h2>
<p>The state government’s submission called for a “world-class system” based on a preventative framework, responses driven by high standards and a justice system focused on perpetrator accountability. </p>
<p>To achieve best practice, <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/7A796E7D-6DB1-49AD-B351-E0672A1AB5E9/White-Ribbon-Australia">White Ribbon Australia</a> recommended the commission expand its goals to consult internationally. This is an important recommendation which recognises that there may be valuable lessons to be gleaned from comparative international jurisdictions. </p>
<p>By looking beyond Australia, the commission could draw on evaluations, research and practitioner experiences to gauge the extent to which overseas approaches and best practice may benefit Victoria. </p>
<h2>Creating a safer court environment</h2>
<p>The Victorian <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/7969A22F-0736-4A52-A41E-637AB7D5149B/Supreme-Court-of-Victoria">Supreme Court</a> noted that there is “significant scope” to improve court security and comforts for victims navigating court processes. Also recognising the vulnerability of persons who come in contact with the courts, the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/6081FF57-8BFD-4D80-A992-F4625B9F14A8/County-Court-of-Victoria">County Court</a> advocated for a more secure court environment for victims, including adequate access to safety and support services. </p>
<p>Ensuring the safety of persons who come in contact with the courts following family violence victimisation is an essential issue for the commission. <a href="http://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/258133/pubs-4.pdf">Research</a> reveals the extent to which victims experience discomfort and safety concerns in their interactions with the court system. That courts can be a point of secondary victimisation for those who have already been abused at home is an unacceptable status quo in need of redress. </p>
<p>Other recommendations for reforms at the court level came from the Federation of Community Legal Centres. It advocated for expansion of the Family Violence Court Division to better deal with the “overwhelming demand” in family violence matters. The County Court also recommended that all family violence matters be “flagged” to improve case management and allow for fast-tracked listings. </p>
<p>Alongside court reforms, several submissions recognised the barriers that many people face in reporting an incident of family violence. To address this, the Victorian <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/25D8CD70-010C-4C39-A461-6DB9AAB22E57/Coroners-Court-of-Victoria">Coroners’ Court</a> recommended expanding Crime Stoppers’ <a href="http://www.saysomething.org.au">Say Something</a> campaign. The campaign aims to encourage young persons who witness violence to report it anonymously by phone or online.</p>
<p>By expanding this campaign to cover family violence, the submission argues that opportunities for intervention and third party reporting rates could be enhanced. </p>
<h2>The need for greater resources</h2>
<p>Unsurprisingly, several stakeholder submissions highlight the need for greater funding of family violence systems and services. These submissions reveal that it will not be enough for the commission to identify change, and the government to implement reform, if that change is not adequately supported with the level of funding it so desperately requires.</p>
<p>The need for greater funding of services is evident in submissions from the Federation of Community Legal Centres, the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/560BD534-F9B6-4E02-9C7D-4B47E6050CF8/Magistrates'-Court-of-Victoria---Family-Violence-Taskforce">Magistrates’ Court of Victoria Family Violence Taskforce</a>, the County Court, <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/91715532-603E-456E-91D0-B3235E0C62CB/Domestic-Violence-Victoria---01">Domestic Violence Victoria</a> and <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/903B778A-B83A-47A5-8F6F-699C966B7E55/Domestic-Violence-Resource-Centre-(DVRCV)">Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria</a>. </p>
<p>For Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria, the need for increased funding specifically of women-centred family violence services is central to its proposal for a strengthened “integrated service system”. </p>
<p>Seeking a more consistent approach to funding, Domestic Violence Victoria recommended that funds for the family violence system be provided from a “designated, guaranteed, recurrent” Commonwealth budget stream. </p>
<p>Beyond funding, stakeholder submissions highlighted deficiencies in data collection and management of family violence incidents in Victoria. This is much to the detriment of those working within the current system but also those seeking to improve it. To address this, several submissions pointed to the need to improve mechanisms for data collection, to provide greater opportunities for research and to ensure ongoing resource support for the <a href="http://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/home/coronial+investigation+process/family+violence+investigations/">Victorian Systemic Review of Family Violence Deaths</a>.</p>
<h2>The need for greater training</h2>
<p>Several submissions emphasised the importance of training and education of those engaged in support service delivery, prevention and responses to family violence. </p>
<p>Domestic Violence Victoria recommended that all professions working in the family violence system be mandated to undertaken family violence training. It argued that such training will ensure “consistent levels of understanding of the issue”. This is an important achievement given widespread acknowledgement of the prevalence of misunderstandings of the nature and reality of family violence. </p>
<p>Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria also emphasised training. It recommended that a “consistent, comprehensive and up-to-date approach to workforce development” be introduced. This approach would ensure the delivery of family violence training to a range of persons working in government organisations, health and community services and through the education sector. </p>
<p>Like all other facets of the system, ensuring consistent and adequate training will require a significant funding commitment. It is essential, however, to the effective delivery of services at all stages of the Victorian family violence system. </p>
<h2>An opportunity to listen and learn</h2>
<p>The Victorian government’s submission identified that a key goal of the commission is to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… achieve lasting and generational change. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The public hearings mark the next stage of this process. They will run as a series of modules, which begin this week with a focus on children, financial abuse, alcohol and drugs. </p>
<p>The royal commission presents a timely opportunity to greatly improve responses to family violence in Victoria. As the volume of submissions reveal, this is a task not easily achieved. The commission is undoubtedly taking important steps to navigate that field by engaging with the views and experiences of those involved at all levels of Victoria’s family violence system.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44502/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Fitz-Gibbon is the 2015 recipient of the Peter Mitchell Churchill Fellowship. </span></em></p>The royal commission presents a timely opportunity to greatly improve responses to family violence in Victoria. But as the volume of submissions reveal, this is a task not easily achieved.Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/441822015-07-07T20:09:15Z2015-07-07T20:09:15ZViolent offenders registers sound good, but are a costly, unproven distraction<p>The New South Wales government looks set to pilot Australia’s first register of <a href="http://nsw.liberal.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Domestic-Violence.pdf">domestic violence offenders</a>, modelled on a UK scheme known as “Clare’s Law”. </p>
<p>It’s an idea winning interest in other states, with the Victorian Police calling for it to be considered in its <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/440B6C34-0343-48CB-B109-67787D44972D/Victoria-Police">submission</a> to the Royal Commission into Family Violence. Last month, the <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-needs-violence-disclosure-scheme-springborg-20150622-ghuk8x.html">Queensland opposition leader</a> said the Clare’s Law model “would save the lives of women and children in Queensland”.</p>
<p>It sounds like a good idea; why shouldn’t people have a right to ask and know about their partner’s history of domestic violence? </p>
<p>But a closer look at the NSW proposal for a <a href="http://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/consultations/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme">Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme</a>, and what little we know about how Clare’s Law has worked in the UK, soon reveals why <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-03/rosie-batty-rejects-idea-of-domestic-violence-register/6592644">Rosie Batty and others</a> have raised concerns about a violent offenders register. </p>
<h2>‘Clare’s Law’ does not address critical service gaps</h2>
<p>The NSW scheme would allow a concerned person to ask if their current partner has any recorded history of domestic violence (which is known as the “Right to Ask”).</p>
<p>It would also allow a relevant authority, such as the police, to inform a person about a current partner’s previous history of domestic violence if they think that person is at risk (the “Right to Know”). </p>
<p>It is modelled on a UK scheme that was introduced after the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-13506721">murder of Clare Wood</a> by her former partner, George Appleton, in February 2009. It is worth looking at this case closely, as it raises questions about whether we think a disclosure scheme would make a difference.</p>
<p>In the lead up to her death, Clare had contacted the police a number of times to report harassment, threats to kill, sexual assault and property damage. The police did not adequately respond to what Clare was telling them; they did not follow their own procedures; they failed to put Clare’s reports together to build up a picture of increasing risk; and did not look at Appleton’s criminal history.</p>
<p>The gap, then, does not appear to be that Clare <em>did not know</em> about Appleton’s previous convictions, but rather that the police <em>did not act</em> on <a href="https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/investigation_commissioner_reports/clare_wood_report_final_10_march.pdf">Clare’s own disclosures</a> about violence. </p>
<p>Following Clare’s death, there were calls for a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS). Yet such a scheme would have done nothing to address the gaps in the service response by the police.</p>
<p>As a number of domestic violence advocacy groups in the UK noted in their submissions to the then proposed UK scheme, what was needed at the outset was improvement in the current response of <a href="http://www.refuge.org.uk/files/FINAL_disclosure_scheme_consultation_response_Jan_2012.pdf">the police</a> and <a href="http://www.womensaid.org.uk/core/core_picker/download.asp?id=3580">the legal system</a>. </p>
<h2>Is the UK scheme helping victims? We don’t know</h2>
<p>We know very little about how the UK operates and whether it is effective. The UK scheme was piloted in four locations <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/clares-law-pilot-to-stop-domestic-violence-begins">in 2012</a> before being rolled out across England and Wales. </p>
<p>It has both the “right to ask” and “right to know” components and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/260899/DVDS_IA.pdf">aims to</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>reduce domestic violence; </li>
<li>reduce the health and criminal justice related costs of domestic violence; </li>
<li>and enhance multi-agency collaboration to better support victims of domestic violence. </li>
</ul>
<p>But the evaluation of the pilot was <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme-pilot-assessment">very limited</a>. It looked at process, rather than outcomes.</p>
<p>The evaluation “was not designed to consider any impact the scheme may have had on domestic abuse victims” – though one might suggest that was the key question that should have been asked, and answered.</p>
<p>At the very least, it would seem advisable to wait until a more thorough evaluation is conducted in the UK before such a scheme is initiated in Australia. That’s particularly true given the estimated cost of such a scheme. </p>
<h2>Where will the extra funding come from?</h2>
<p>The average cost reported in one of the UK pilot areas was <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme-pilot-assessment">£740 per application</a>.</p>
<p>In the UK, it was estimated that their DVDS, including both a right to know and a right to ask, would generate around 4,302 applications each year (roughly a third of which would result in a disclosure), at a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme">cost of £3.18 million</a>. </p>
<p>That estimate only considered the direct costs of the scheme. It did <em>not</em> include any additional funds that that might be needed for services to support potential victims following a disclosure.</p>
<p>It was further estimated that in order to have an impact on the overall average costs of domestic violence to society (estimated at £7850 per victim), then disclosures would have to prevent “domestic violence … in around one third of cases” in which a disclosure is made.</p>
<p>Yet as the report itself notes, “there is no evidence to suggest how effective those disclosures would be in reducing domestic abuse”. </p>
<h2>Gaping holes in what is recorded and disclosed</h2>
<p>Beyond the costs, there are gaps and assumptions underlying Domestic Violence Disclosure Schemes that raise questions about their effectiveness in addressing domestic violence.</p>
<p>Let’s say you have concerns and want to check if your partner has a history of domestic violence. The scheme is designed to disclose whether a person has a recorded history of perpetrating domestic violence; that is, a criminal conviction, or a current or previous protection order. </p>
<p>This leaves a lot of people who have a history of violence “off the list”. Australia’s National Research Organisation on Women’s Safety <a href="http://anrows.org.au/sites/default/files/Violence-Against-Australian-Women-Key-Statistics.pdf">statistics</a> show that 58% of women who had experienced violence from a former partner “had never contacted the police”. Even when women do make a report to the police, there is a high rate of attrition across the legal system. </p>
<p>So what happens if a woman is told that there is nothing to disclose? </p>
<p>The UK DVDS and the one proposed for NSW both emphasise that even where there is nothing to disclose, the woman will be told that this doesn’t necessarily mean that her partner has not perpetrated violence in the past.</p>
<p>What do we really think she will take from that “non-disclosure”? </p>
<p>As one key UK advocacy group, <a href="http://www.refuge.org.uk/files/FINAL_disclosure_scheme_consultation_response_Jan_2012.pdf">Refuge</a>, warned in their submission about the then proposed UK scheme, the provision of such non-information may “create a false sense of security in some women”, it may make them feel “safe”, and it may “encourage them to think that the violence they are suffering is ‘imagined’ or ‘exaggerated’”.</p>
<h2>‘Choice’ requires support</h2>
<p>One of the stated aims of the proposed DVDS in NSW is to allow potential victim’s to make an “informed choice” about whether to continue a relationship with a person who has perpetrated domestic violence in the past. </p>
<p>Informed choice is a difficult concept, especially in the context of domestic violence. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-doesnt-she-just-leave-the-realities-of-escaping-domestic-violence-29537">Many factors limit “choice”</a>, such as the availability of support services, access to financial resources, and whether there are children from the relationship.</p>
<p>The assumption that, once provided with information, women will chose to end a potentially violent relationship also ignores the fact that homicide statistics tell us that leaving is one of the <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rpp/104/rpp104.pdf">most dangerous times for women</a>.</p>
<p>And while domestic violence disclosure schemes are supposed to be designed to prevent a violent person from moving on to a new partner and perpetrating violence again, there is sadly no extra action or enforcement against perpetrators.</p>
<p>Instead, once again, the onus is put on victims to do something – leave – rather than for all components of the service and legal system being focused on tackling repeat domestic violence offenders. </p>
<h2>What’s still missing: extra help and funding</h2>
<p>Across Australia, we know that crucial legal help, housing, counselling, health and financial assistance for people trying to escape violence are <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-urgent-action-on-family-violence-has-fallen-years-behind-40303">chronically under-funded</a>, or have even had their <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Finance_and_Public_Administration/Domestic_Violence/%7E/media/Committees/fapa_ctte/Domestic_Violence/Interim%20report/report.pdf">funding cut</a>.</p>
<p>Just last weekend, the lack of availability of <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/domestic-violence-centres-full-workers-scared-to-criticise-government-20150704-gi4j58">crisis refuge accommodation for women</a> fleeing domestic violence in NSW was highlighted in the media.</p>
<p>Rather than a implementing a new scheme, the benefits of which are unknown, what we need most is prevention, intervention and support to encourage women to make reports to the police, and to ensure effective responses when they do so. </p>
<p>That’s what Clare Wood needed, but didn’t get, when she tried to exercise her choice to leave her violent former partner.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Read more of The Conversation’s ongoing <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/domestic-violence">Domestic Violence</a> coverage.</em></p>
<p><em>Anyone at risk of family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault can seek help 24 hours a day, seven days a week, either <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/">online</a> or by calling 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). Information is also available in <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/languages/">28 languages other than English</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44182/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Wangmann is a member of the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team.</span></em></p>Giving people the right to ask about their partner’s history of domestic violence sounds like a good idea – but there are good reasons why Rosie Batty and others have raised concerns.Jane Wangmann, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/439992015-07-06T20:09:18Z2015-07-06T20:09:18ZAbuse and neglect of people with disabilities demands zero-tolerance response<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87428/original/image-20150706-17531-1t3vb11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We're still working out the extent of the problem, but it's not too early to act.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=169562051&size=huge&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTQzNjE4NDU4MywiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTY5NTYyMDUxIiwiayI6InBob3RvLzE2OTU2MjA1MS9odWdlLmpwZyIsIm0iOiIxIiwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCJSUXI4N0lKdVBkSlZZTlJFU1piU1ljdW5BdW8iXQ%2Fshutterstock_169562051.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=1&license=standard&src=uYRdkQkb8mQQWTieJgKSVg-1-22&el_order_id=">kosmos111/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Violence, abuse and neglect of people with disabilities have historically been driven by exclusion, discrimination and institutionalisation. While the disability system has undergone significant and important reforms over the past three decades, many problems remain. We’re still failing to protect people with disabilities.</p>
<p>Three current inquiries – by the <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Violence_abuse_neglect">Australian Senate</a>, <a href="http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/fcdc/inquiry/397">Victorian Parliament</a> and <a href="https://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/Investigations/Investigation-into-disability-abuse-reporting">Victorian Ombudsman</a> – are currently investigating the problem, along with the <a href="http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/resource-centre/people-with-disability">Royal Commission</a> into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. But while we’re still working out the extent of the problem, it’s not too early to act. </p>
<p>Here’s what we know so far. </p>
<h2>High risk of abuse</h2>
<p>People with disabilities have a high risk of experiencing violence, abuse and neglect – in public facilities, private facilities and within the community. While national figures are not available, within <a href="http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/documents-and-resources/research,-data-and-statistics/additional-data-20132014/disability-services">Victorian disability services</a> alone 410 assaults were reported in 2013-2014.</p>
<p>The risk of abuse is exacerbated if people have little or no functional speech and no means to report abuses when they occur. More than 90% of women with severe communication disorders, for instance, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17114159">suffer abuse</a>.</p>
<p>People with disabilities are also at increased risk of neglect. The 2015 New South Wales <a href="http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/25015/Report-of-reviewable-deaths-in-2012-and-2013-Volume-2-Deaths-of-people-with-disability-in-residential-care-2.pdf">Ombudsman’s report</a> on preventable deaths of people in care noted that deaths from choking, falls, fractures or lack of appropriate health care were all preventable. </p>
<p>The abuse of people with disabilities is sometimes gendered and disability-specific. Women are abused by carers through the control of finances, withholding medication and limiting access to aids and equipment. They also experience domestic and family violence, and sexual assault at <a href="http://www.wdv.org.au/documents/Voices%20Against%20Violence%20Paper%20One%20Executive%20Summary.pdf">higher rates</a> than women without disabilities. </p>
<p>However, mainstream domestic violence services such as refuges, counselling and other domestic violence supports are largely inaccessible to them. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/News/Media-Releases/Media-Alerts/Media-Release-VO-to-investigate-disability-abuse-r">Victorian Public Advocate</a>, abuse against people in <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/yooralla-worker-jailed-for-sexual-abuse-refused-appeal-request-20140529-3981m.html">Yooralla disability services</a> in Victoria – which has <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-29/yooralla-manager-sentenced-to-four-years-for-abusing-client/6580526">resulted in</a> convictions of two Yooralla staff – are the tip of the iceberg. There is a <a href="http://www.publicadvocate.vic.gov.au/file/Violence_and_disability_report_August2010%5B1%5D%281%29.pdf">broad spectrum of abuses</a>, including male carers physically and sexually abusing women with a disability, and staff applying unlawful restraint, such as physical force or medication to control client behaviour. People with disabilities also perpetrate violence and abuse against each other in residential services. </p>
<p>Reports tabled in the Victorian parliament and given to government departments, and people with disabilities’ own stories, recount frightening abuse and neglect. Some but not all of these cases are reported to police.</p>
<p>People with disabilities also struggle to gain justice through the courts. Many abuse cases <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/publications/equal-law">do not proceed</a>, often because people with disabilities are seen as unreliable, not credible or incapable of being a witness. As the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/publications/equal-law">Australian Human Rights Commission</a> notes, incorrect assessments are being made about the legal competence of people with disabilities. </p>
<h2>Overcoming the barriers to justice</h2>
<p>The Victorian Ombudsman <a href="https://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/Investigations/Investigation-into-disability-abuse-reporting">last month highlighted</a> that the oversight arrangements for reporting and safeguarding violence, abuse and neglect were “fragmented, complicated and confusing”. </p>
<p>Individual barriers to justice include having no way of telling others about the abuse. This is particularly relevant for people with little or no functional speech or access to communication aids. Not being believed is another clear issue for people who are seen as not having the capacity to understand their experiences. </p>
<p>Other barriers are more <a href="https://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au/Investigations/Investigation-into-disability-abuse-reporting">systemic</a> and include the complex internal incident reporting systems in government and funded disability services and the inaccessibility of courts and other parts of the justice system. </p>
<p>People with disabilities need better access to information about abuse, their right to safety and avenues for reporting and talking about their experiences. A peer-led program about respectful relationships, <a href="http://arrow.latrobe.edu.au:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/latrobe:33993;jsessionid=6C0A45A02A1BC8B8D852036672DFDE66">Living Safer Sexual Lives</a>, aims to do just this. </p>
<p>Developed at La Trobe University and coordinated by the first author at Deakin University, the program provides information about abuse and gives people a safe place to talk about their own experiences. For some, this means disclosing abuse. </p>
<p>Responsive and accessible counselling and advocacy are also needed. The Victorian <a href="http://www.secasa.com.au/search-results/SphinxSearchForm?Search=making+rights+reality&action_getResults=+">Making Rights Reality</a> is one such program that focuses on victims of sexual abuse with a cognitive impairment. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.secasa.com.au/search-results/SphinxSearchForm?Search=making+rights+reality&action_getResults=+">Program evaluations</a> show good outcomes when sexual assault services develop and use resources targeted at this group’s specific needs and abilities. Targeted legal advocacy also leads to more positive justice outcomes including access to victim of crime compensation. </p>
<p>Building on the work of Making Rights Reality, the first author is leading a national research program to identify response service models that are working with women and girls with disabilities. The aim is to develop national guidelines to improve the response practices and approaches in violence and abuse response services. </p>
<p>We need to hold people who perpetrate or sanction violence, abuse and neglect of people with disabilities to account. This requires legal reform, funding reform and a zero-tolerance approach. It’s also vital that the safeguarding framework of the National Disability Insurance Scheme takes a zero-tolerance stance and develops a rights-based approach to reporting and responding.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43999/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patsie Frawley is employed by Deakin University, She has received a research grant from the Australian National Research Organisation on Women's Safety.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Balandin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While the disability system has undergone significant and important reforms over the past three decades, many problems remain. We’re still failing to protect people with disabilities.Patsie Frawley, Senior research fellow, Deakin UniversitySusan Balandin, Chair in Disability and Inclusion, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/441332015-07-02T20:11:47Z2015-07-02T20:11:47ZFamily violence victims need support, not mandatory reporting<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87133/original/image-20150702-22627-1gw5czq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mandatory reporting of family violence on a woman's behalf threatens dignity and takes away her power.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/96dpi/3978958005/in/photolist-74BcAe-8u3AWc-5mbcon-iiENod-cJQyvy-92SNhn-9Sks1-7yHEXo-7vjmcm-3fLPmZ-4e2u3y-fSzDa-sDU7S8-9oMf6Q-7Vurxb-5UiHq-7VtztH-5kxw18-fsLeBz-5aosCF-3eCG-6nrASp-7pQdkJ-9xhzAb-6xmG7C-74oXtD-7WuFhn-4KGdND-7qcccF-bn8ayx-cqSMEA-54rq6G-aHiq7B-dGPFqj-ptSPwJ-m3Mw5G-5LDsTX-bpiLr2-7Nm5vf-8sZN1w-72nmUg-aEt87m-8QVzzS-h1rG1-5YqKNj-9avhp4-fxABbT-bCDr82-8UKcbp-54nbrD">Andreas Levers/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At first glance, <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/440B6C34-0343-48CB-B109-67787D44972D/Victoria-Police">Victoria Police’s</a> suggestion that health professionals report domestic violence to authorities, as they do for <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/workers/fact-sheets/mandatory-reporting-requirements/">child abuse</a>, sounds like a great idea. </p>
<p>The suggestion was made in its submission to the state’s Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2015. Such a move might connect women with support services quicker. Police could take out intervention orders on women’s behalf, and men who use violence could be prosecuted if an assault occurs.</p>
<p>With mandatory reporting, health professionals may then see domestic violence as a serious health issue in which they play an intrinsically important role, rather than a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25467583">private social matter</a> on the periphery of their clinical work. </p>
<p>Doctors, in particular, may become increasingly familiar with the existing Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) <a href="http://www.racgp.org.au/whitebook/">guidelines</a> and World Health Organisation <a href="http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241548595/en/">advice</a> on how to identify and respond to domestic and family violence – a potential positive outcome in itself.</p>
<p>But women are not children, and we believe mandatory reporting of family violence on their behalf may threaten dignity and take away their power. Rather, doctors should be trained to provide the kind of support that will empower a woman to take the action she believes is best suited to her situation.</p>
<h2>Experiences of mandatory reporting</h2>
<p>We know from <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235204000182">US experience</a> that some abused women don’t seek medical help because of a doctor’s legal obligation to report injuries, including those from domestic violence, to police. Many women are often the best judge of their own and their children’s <a href="http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/718858/1_family_violence_risk-assessment_risk_management_framework_manual_010612.PDF">safety</a> and prefer that their autonomy and confidentiality are not broken. </p>
<p>In Australia, the Northern Territory is the only place that has specific mandatory reporting laws. These were introduced in response to the high rates of domestic and family violence, particularly towards Aboriginal women. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/documents/publications/2013/evaluation_of_the_impact_of_mandatory_reporting_of_domestic_and_family_violence.pdf">2012 evaluation</a> of the laws showed that, since they became operational in 2009, there has been an increase in reports and intervention orders. As well as a spin-off effect of more specialised services within hospitals and funding for refuges. </p>
<p>The report noted the majority of NT service providers were positive, seeing mandatory reporting as part of a broader strategy to respond to the hidden epidemic. </p>
<p>But the evaluation also showed a lack of training and systems in place in the Territory. Some survivors reported negative experiences of the police response, depending on whether they had consented to the report. Women were often worried about custodial sentences for perpetrators, not wanting children to be removed by child protection and violent retribution for making a report. </p>
<p>Separately from the Northern Territory’s experience, <a href="http://www.racgp.org.au/your-practice/guidelines/whitebook/chapter-12-migrant-and-refugee-communities/">migrant and refugee communities</a> may be particularly susceptible to being pushed beyond the reach of support for fear of mandatory police involvement and potential deportation. Clearly, any intervention in this area requires a high degree of cultural sensitivity.</p>
<p>We also know doctors across Australia currently struggle with mandatory reporting of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/car.1180/abstract">child abuse</a>; often because of a lack of training and skills, varying <a href="http://www.racgp.org.au/your-practice/guidelines/whitebook/chapter-6-child-abuse/">state laws</a>, inconsistent responses when they do contact authorities and a lack of accessible advice and support.</p>
<p>Overall, we are unsure if mandatory reporting of domestic violence actually benefits women and their children, with some women feeling it may <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11064232">jeopardise their safety</a>. It’s important to note that the World Health Organisation does <a href="http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241548595/en/">not recommend</a> mandatory reporting for health professionals.</p>
<h2>More training for doctors in family violence</h2>
<p>Rather, all health professionals should be trained in identification and <a href="http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/vaw-clinical-handbook/en/">first-line response</a>. This consists of asking women who present with <a href="http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241564625/en/">clinical indicators</a> (for instance, depression, trouble sleeping, injuries, chronic pain) whether they feel safe in their intimate relationships. </p>
<p>When women are ready to disclose, health professionals should listen, inquire about their needs, validate their experiences and offer them and their children ongoing support. When women are ready, doctors should assist them through <a href="http://www.racgp.org.au/your-practice/guidelines/whitebook/chapter-4-intimate-partner-abuse-responding-and-counselling-strategies/">“warm” referrals</a>, by making an introductory phone call to support services that can help them.</p>
<p>Like <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/440B6C34-0343-48CB-B109-67787D44972D/Victoria-Police">Victoria Police</a>, we think the solution for health professionals to address the hidden epidemic of domestic violence is mandatory training in family violence. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.ndm.ox.ac.uk/_asset/file/statutory-and-mandatory-framework.pdf">United Kingdom</a>, it’s mandatory for all health professionals to be trained in methods to keep adults and children safe. We know we can train <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23598181">general practitioners</a> to do this work and that this results in more safety discussions and less depressive symptoms for women.</p>
<p>In addition to training for doctors, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25467583">systems</a> such as protocols, management support and referral services, need to be in place to help doctors assist women and children.</p>
<p>Doctors and other health professionals can play a role in preventing and responding to terrorism within the family. They just need to be trained. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44133/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelsey Hegarty has received funding from Department of Social Services to update Royal Australian College of General Practitioner (RACGP) Abuse and Violence: Working with our patients in general practice Manual (White Book) and online learning module. She is is a member of the Abuse and Violence Network, Royal Australian College of General Practitioner (RACGP) National Faculty of Specific Interests.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Forsdike has received funding from Department of Social Services to update Royal Australian College of General Practitioner (RACGP) Abuse and Violence: Working with our patients in general practice Manual (White Book) and online learning module.</span></em></p>Legal requirements for doctors to report family violence to police may sound good at first glance. But evidence shows it’s better doctors are trained to support women to make their own decisions.Kelsey Hegarty, Professor of Family Violence Prevention, Department of General Practice and the Royal Women's Hospital, The University of MelbourneKirsty Forsdike, Senior Research Officer and Programe coordinator of Research into abuse and violence; PhD student women's mental health and sport participation, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/382192015-03-11T19:26:37Z2015-03-11T19:26:37ZCancel the inquiries: we don’t need more reports on domestic violence<p>In the past few weeks, we’ve seen the Abbott government announce a A$30 million national awareness campaign on domestic violence, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten call for a national summit and a Queensland taskforce finish its report while <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-victorias-royal-commission-into-family-violence-36510">Victoria’s Royal Commission</a> gets underway.</p>
<p>But, for decades, people have been making the same recommendations in the many past reviews and action plans. Instead of acting on those recommendations properly, successive governments have cherry-picked the easy fixes and ignored the hard stuff.</p>
<p>So no more debating the problem at summits, royal commissions or revised action plans. It’s time to act.</p>
<h2>Deja vu</h2>
<p>Whether it’s in Australia or overseas, if you read enough reviews and reports on domestic violence, certain recommendations keep cropping up. </p>
<p>Take the Queensland Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence, led by Dame Quentin Bryce, which handed its 368-page report to the Queensland government on February 28.</p>
<p>Its 140 recommendations include:</p>
<ul>
<li>changing community attitudes through education, prevention and communication initiatives targeting school students, employers, lawyers, doctors and teachers</li>
<li>developing more integrated service responses to better help victims and overcome current barriers to information-sharing</li>
<li>increasing the availability and standard of perpetrator intervention programs</li>
<li>improving court orders and processes so that they have more specialist knowledge, share information and are more victim-focused</li>
<li>developing an ongoing strategy and framework for implementing, resourcing and evaluating these initiatives.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are all sound proposals. Yet, there is little that we haven’t heard before. </p>
<p>Flick back through the <a href="http://www.lawreform.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/lrc/lrc_completed_projects/lrc_completedprojects2000_2009/lrc_familyviolence.aspx">2009 joint report</a> of the Australian and NSW Law Reform Commissions, the <a href="http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/2340acad17f1e8c4ca257a6700149efd/$file/120827%20final%20report.pdf">2012 NSW</a> Standing Committee on Social Issues report, the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-to-reduce-violence-against-women-and-their-children-2010-2022">2010 National Action Plan</a> to reduce violence against women and children, and the follow-up <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-to-reduce-violence-against-women-and-their-children/the-second-action-plan">Second Action Plan</a> launched by the prime minister last year. </p>
<p>All of those build on three decades of reviews, reports and task forces. And in each of those reports, there are familiar recommendations, such as better integrated victim services, more effective victim-centred legal responses, raising community awareness, and greater focus on intervention and prevention. </p>
<p>All recognise that this is a deeply entrenched social problem, which requires long-term, multi-pronged solutions, not quick fixes. </p>
<h2>Similar lessons from overseas</h2>
<p>Of course, Australia isn’t alone. </p>
<p>Domestic violence is a global problem, found even in countries often seen as having greater gender equality, lower levels of violence and less punitive criminal justice systems. In Sweden, a 2011-2012 European Union survey of women reported more than one in four reported physical or sexual violence by a current or previous partner. </p>
<p>Both the Swedish and Norwegian governments have recognised domestic violence as a significant issue. Again, if you look at what their expert reports call for, we see familiar arguments for a comprehensive approach, increased coordination of victim services, treatment and intervention, and effective investigation and prosecution.</p>
<p>A little closer to our legal system, the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181088/vawg-action-plan-2013.pdf">2013 Call to End Violence against Women and Children</a> action plan sets out the same kinds of strategies we’ve seen called for in Australia.</p>
<h2>The four missing ingredients Australia needs</h2>
<p>So if everyone broadly agrees on the recipe for change, what are the four missing ingredients in our approaches, which Australia has never tried before and which we can’t succeed without?</p>
<p>First, from our governments we need long-term bipartisan leadership and commitment to implementation and evaluation at a national and state and territory government level. Planning in terms of three-year or four-year electoral cycles just doesn’t cut it.</p>
<p>Don’t just make a promise for this term of office. Sit down with your state and federal oppositions and come up with a bipartisan plan, with locked-in, long-term funding and commitments, and coordinate this nationally. </p>
<p>Second, we need sustained community pressure for long-term leadership and change. As a community, we should not be satisfied with short-term solutions.</p>
<p>Third, we all need to show a willingness to change our culture, not just our laws. Although more effective responses for victims are essential, these do not stop the problem. We need to change deeply embedded attitudes. Education and communication programs are an important part of this, but one-off campaigns – like the new A$30 million campaign that has just been announced – are not enough. </p>
<p>The evidence shows that such campaigns are only effective when reinforced by other direct measures aimed at helping victims, treating offenders and improving services. The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/2015-03-08/6277930">planned cuts to legal and support services</a> run completely counter to this objective.</p>
<p>Fourth, we need comprehensive responses that tie all these things together. We can’t afford to let governments keep cherry-picking only the headline-grabbing proposals; this is a complicated problem, requiring complex, integrated solutions.</p>
<h2>A chance to finally get it right</h2>
<p>If there’s one positive sign of change in Australia today, it’s that there seems to be more bipartisan political support for greater action on domestic violence than there ever has been before. </p>
<p>The new interest in domestic violence from the prime minister and various premiers down is welcome, and having Rosie Batty as Australian of the Year gives Australia a real chance of getting people talking and acting on this in a way that we haven’t before.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Tony Abbott wants to place domestic violence at the centre of the agenda for a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/federal-and-state-governments-commit-30-million-for-domestic-violence-campaign-20150304-13uvat.html">Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting</a> in the middle of the year. </p>
<p>Will the <a href="https://www.coag.gov.au/coag_members">10 political leaders</a> sitting around the COAG table that day – the prime minister, flanked by our state, territory and local government leaders – seize that chance to finally act on this deadly national scourge? Or will that meeting be just more talk? </p>
<p>We, as a community, cannot let this chance to achieve lasting change slip.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Anyone at risk of family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault can seek help 24 hours a day, seven days a week, either <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/">online</a> or by calling 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). Information is also available in <a href="https://www.1800respect.org.au/languages/">28 languages other than English</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Read other articles in The Conversation’s ongoing <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/domestic-violence">domestic violence</a> coverage.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet Ransley has received funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Drugs Law Enforcement Research Fund, the Criminology Research Grant scheme and the Queensland Police Service.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Bond currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Criminology Research Grant scheme. She has in the past received funding from the Queensland government under the Indigenous Criminal Justice Research Agenda and Queensland Health.</span></em></p>For decades, successive governments have cherry-picked reports on domestic violence for the easy fixes, and ignored the hard stuff. So no more summits and royal commissions – it’s time to act.Janet Ransley, Head of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith UniversityChristine Bond, Senior Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/382172015-03-04T19:25:17Z2015-03-04T19:25:17ZSidelined and scorned: young people are set up to be soft targets<p><a href="http://www.natsem.canberra.edu.au/storage/Poverty-Social-Exclusion-and-Disadvantage.pdf">Poverty</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-finding-a-policy-fix-for-youth-unemployment-31565">unemployment</a> and <a href="http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/uploads/media/Research_series/An_assault_on_our_future_FULL_Flood__Fergus_2010.pdf">family violence</a> are key problems facing many young Australians. To deal with these concerns in any substantial way requires concerted effort from all of us. But responsibility particularly rests with those who have the authority and the positional power to direct and sanction change.</p>
<p>So, what have we seen from our leaders in recent weeks? Will these suggestions help to solve the challenges confronting <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/youth/youth-definition/">young people</a>? Or is it possible they could exacerbate these very same problems?</p>
<h2>Political responses to family violence</h2>
<p>Recently, there has been an inadequate response to a problem facing many young people in otherwise laudable political developments.</p>
<p>First, the <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/UploadedDocs/Signed-Letters-Patent-22-2-15.pdf">terms of reference</a> of Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence failed to name young people. Other groups such as women, children, seniors, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and culturally and linguistically diverse communities were recognised – and rightly so. Young people did not rate a mention. </p>
<p>Prime Minister Tony Abbott <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/tony-abbott-puts-family-violence-on-coag-agenda-rosie-batty-appointed-to-new-panel/story-fn59niix-1227199320097">recently announced</a> that “violence against women and children” would top the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-01-28/coag-agenda-address-ending-violence-against-women-0">agenda</a> for 2015. </p>
<p>On Wednesday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten <a href="http://billshorten.com.au/doorstop-canberra-labor-calls-for-national-crisis-summit-on-family-violence-andrew-chan-and-myuran-sukamaran">called</a> for a <a href="http://billshorten.com.au/time-for-all-of-us-to-act-national-press-club-address-for-international-womens-day">national crisis summit</a> on domestic violence. Both leaders spoke about violence against women and children; neither mentioned the young people who also experience family violence.</p>
<p>Acknowledging it is difficult to accurately measure extent, <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/C/8/B/%7BC8BCD19C-D6D0-4268-984F-B6AF9505E5EA%7Dti195.pdf">research</a> <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/the-health-costs-of-violence">reports</a> that young people experience and witness high levels of family and intimate partner violence.</p>
<p>This same research reports that the violence has serious consequences for young people’s health and well-being. The complex issue of young people perpetrating violence in the home is also worthy of attention.</p>
<h2>The McClure report</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/02_2015/dss001_14_final_report_access_2.pdf">The review</a> of Australia’s social security system led by Patrick McClure recommended income support should not generally be available to young people under the age of 22 in their own right. Its <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/report-recommends-parents-receive-welfare-payments-until-their-children-are-22-years-old/story-e6frflo9-1227238765563">final report</a> proposed a new “Child and Youth Payment” be provided to parents rather than directly to “dependent” young people as is the case now.</p>
<p>Whether rates of income support for young people will be higher under the new payment regime and go any way towards easing youth poverty is yet to be seen. This can be tested only when the rates are known and comparative modelling can take place.</p>
<p>Just as unclear is how these and other measures in the report will reduce youth unemployment – particularly in light of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2014/aug/11/there-arent-enough-jobs-is-it-time-to-cut-back-on-working-holiday-visas">evidence</a> that there are simply <a href="https://theconversation.com/ten-job-seekers-per-vacancy-a-reality-check-on-welfare-overhaul-29743">not enough jobs</a> for all who want to work.</p>
<p>One way of understanding these recommended changes to young people’s income support is as a fictional story or myth we tell ourselves to make us think we are doing something worthwhile when what we are actually doing lacks real substance.</p>
<p>For example, giving young people’s payments directly to parents appears to be an extension of the delusional belief in the merits of [compulsory income management](http://theconversation.com/creeping-spread-of-income-management-must-be-challenged-24560](http://theconversation.com/creeping-spread-of-income-management-must-be-challenged-24560). In this instance parents perform the role of administering the benefit payment to young people.</p>
<p>We are doing something, but it lacks any value in realising the goods we should be interested in, such as reducing inequality and seriously improving the lives of young people.</p>
<p>A parliamentary joint committee recently <a href="http://www.ayac.org.au/uploads/Parliamentary%20Joint%20Committee%20on%20Human%20Rights%20-%20Twelfth%20Report.pdf">found</a> some of the federal government’s previous proposed changes to young people’s income support were incompatible with Australia’s human rights obligations. That may also well be the case on this occasion.</p>
<h2>Recognition as an aspect of justice</h2>
<p>Not mentioning young people in the royal commission terms of reference, in the COAG announcement and in the call for a national crisis summit renders their experiences of family and intimate partner violence invisible. Naming young people is the just thing to do and the terms of reference should be amended to do just that.</p>
<p>According to American philosopher <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Justice_Interruptus.html?id=c1kHLcVz4hEC">Nancy Fraser</a>, one of the two key dimensions of social justice is recognition. Justice is achieved when people or groups can see themselves identified, named and recognised.</p>
<p>The relevance of Fraser’s argument to the royal commission is that the terms of reference are just for the groups that are named, but they are not just for young people because they are not named.</p>
<p>Young people are not a homogenous group – just as women and children are not. But young people are not even on the page.</p>
<p>We should not generalise about young people’s experience of intimate partner and family violence, but how can we even begin to understand this complexity and diversity without the willingness to recognise young people in the first place?</p>
<h2>Age-based prejudice and symbolic violence</h2>
<p>These recent examples of inadequate responses to serious problems facing many young Australians reproduce prejudicial ways of knowing young people. In doing so, they potentially exacerbate the very concerns they are meant to help resolve.</p>
<p>The responses directly or indirectly position young people as children. Collapsing young people into the category of children infantilises them. Young people can subsequently take on and enact ways of being typically associated with childhood, such as being weak, vulnerable and unable to care for and look after themselves.</p>
<p>Treating young people as children also denies them all the benefits that recognition entails, such as dedicated attention and resources. In this regard, people with disabilities can attest to the importance of recognition. </p>
<p>It is also fair to say aged-based prejudice against young people is well on display. Academics <a href="http://thecannyoutlaw.com/author/judith_bessant/">Judith Bessant</a> and <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Childism.html?id=PFo5mgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Elisabeth Young-Bruehl</a> argue such forthright prejudice is common and legitimises and naturalises harmful acts towards young people such as family and intimate partner violence.</p>
<p>Just look at the contempt often directed towards young people <a href="https://theconversation.com/images-of-australian-youth-from-symbols-of-hope-to-disposable-lives-27126">in the media</a>. Just as gender inequality and community attitudes towards women are recognised as key contributors to family violence, ageism is a key factor in young people’s experience of such violence.</p>
<p>As I have <a href="https://theconversation.com/using-youth-as-whipping-boys-sets-scene-for-generation-grim-26287">previously argued</a>, restricting young people’s access to income support aligns with stereotypes about them being lazy, incompetent, irresponsible, incapable of making good decisions and not to be trusted.</p>
<p>Prejudice against young people means their interests and concerns are too often neglected or dismissed. We should not forget that, unlike many other countries, Australia does not have a <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-future-why-we-need-a-youth-policy-to-counter-radicalisation-32610">national youth policy</a> or a minister for youth.</p>
<p>The treatment of young people can be understood as an example of what sociologist Pierre Bourdieu called <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books/about/An_Invitation_to_Reflexive_Sociology.html?id=1A6zQgAACAAJ">symbolic violence</a>. The omission of young people is an example of unequal age relations that are just taken for granted. Bourdieu suggests this is more insidious than the more obvious forms of prejudice just mentioned, because it normalises adults as those who get to say what can be said about and by young people and when. And those adults are oblivious to the pervasiveness of their dominance.</p>
<p>If we are serious about tackling the challenges facing many young people, such as poverty, unemployment and family violence, then we need to take a serious look at age-based prejudice. And this includes examining the understanding of and interventions in the lives of young people that such ageism engenders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Emslie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Responses to family violence by Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten and the terms of reference for Victoria’s royal commission fail to mention young people. Such a lack of recognition has dire consequences.Michael Emslie, Lecturer in Youth Work, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/365102015-02-27T03:11:14Z2015-02-27T03:11:14ZExplainer: Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73253/original/image-20150226-5515-hy2oai.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Victoria's new Labor government has set up an Australian-first royal commission into family violence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Julian Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/Home">Royal Commission into Family Violence</a> began in its work Victoria this week.</p>
<p>The royal commission was established following several high-profile family violence incidents. This included the murder of <a href="https://theconversation.com/violence-and-mental-illness-harsh-reality-demands-sensitive-answers-23460">11-year-old Luke Batty</a> by his father in February 2014. The Batty case encouraged a long-overdue statewide conversation about the extent of family violence in our community. </p>
<p>Like so many cases before it, Luke’s death highlighted significant inefficiencies in police responses to family violence and in the child protection system. It also reinforced long-held concerns about the ineffectiveness of intervention orders in preventing violence.</p>
<p>Establishing a royal commission into family violence was a <a href="http://australianpolitics.com/2014/05/17/andrews-royal-commission-into-family-violence.html">key promise</a> of the then-Labor opposition’s election campaign. After winning government, Premier Daniel Andrews <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-state-election-2014/premier-daniel-andrews-finalises-ministers-portfolios-20141204-11zxcl.html">introduced</a> the first Victorian minister for the prevention of family violence, Fiona Richardson. In December 2014, Andrews <a href="http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/premier-announces-royal-commission-into-family-violence">announced</a> the establishment of the royal commission.</p>
<p>The royal commission is undoubtedly in safe hands with Justice Marcia Neave at its helm. Neave is a former justice of the Victorian Supreme Court (Court of Appeals division) and was previously the foundation chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission. In her role at the commission, Neave undertook inquiries into Victorian homicide law and sexual offences. These inquiries were largely guided by a common goal of making the law more accessible and just for female victims of violence. </p>
<p>Working with Neave are <a href="http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/premier-announces-royal-commission-into-family-violence">deputy commissioners</a> Patricia Faulkner and Tony Nicholson.</p>
<h2>The royal commission’s scope</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/441a0833-f770-4455-adb6-348fbb6a0156/Terms-of-Reference.aspx">terms of reference</a> are all-encompassing. These direct the royal commission to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Examine and evaluate strategies, frameworks, policies, programs and services across government and local government, media, business and community organisations;</p></li>
<li><p>Investigate the means of having systematic responses to family violence, particularly in the legal system and by police, corrections, child protection, legal and family violence support services, including reducing re-offending and changing violence and controlling behaviours;</p></li>
<li><p>Investigate how government agencies and community organisations can better integrate and co-ordinate their efforts; and</p></li>
<li><p>Provide recommendations on how best to evaluate and measure the success of strategies, frameworks, policies, programs and services put in place to stop family violence.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Within these broad terms of reference, Neave has said the commission’s primary focus is to improve the system. Within this, addressing how the system can best cope with <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-23/royal-commission-into-family-violence-aims-to-improve-system/6222912">“the sheer volume of people”</a> affected by family violence will be central. </p>
<p>In this respect, this royal commission differs from the <a href="http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au">Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse</a>. That inquiry is largely focused on victims and providing a forum for victims to present their experiences.</p>
<h2>Why Victoria needs a royal commission</h2>
<p>It is difficult to capture just how important a royal commission with this focus is. For too long, family violence has taken, threatened and pervaded the lives of so many in the Victorian community. At the royal commission’s launch, Governor Alex Chernov <a href="http://www.rcfv.com.au/getattachment/441a0833-f770-4455-adb6-348fbb6a0156/Terms-of-Reference.aspx">cited</a> the terrifying extent of family violence in Victoria:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>In 2013 there were 44 family violence-related deaths in Victoria;</p></li>
<li><p>In 2013-14 more than 65,000 family violence incidents were reported to Victoria Police; and </p></li>
<li><p>The estimated cost of family violence to the Victorian economy in 2009 was A$3.4 billion.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/our-work/preventing-violence-against-women">According to VicHealth</a>, violence against women remains the biggest contributor to ill-health and premature death in women aged 15 and 44.</p>
<p>Importantly, family violence is not unique to Victoria. In this respect, it is hoped that a royal commission of this scope in one state will promote much-needed policy, be system-focused and support service examinations in other Australian jurisdictions. </p>
<p>Given the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/minister-downplays-idea-of-national-royal-commission-into-domestic-violence-20150127-12yyqq.html">hesitance</a> to implement a national inquiry into family violence, state-based interventions will be important in leading the way and promoting an evidence-based discussion of best-practice approaches to prevention, intervention and legal responses.</p>
<h2>The importance of funding</h2>
<p>As a starting point, the Victorian government has committed $36 million to the work of the royal commission. It is providing another $4 million in funding to services that are likely to experience increased demand during the royal commission.</p>
<p>This initial financial commitment is commendable. However, it must be viewed in light of <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victorian-family-violence-services-face-cuts-20150126-12yhy0.html">recent federal funding cuts</a> to a range of support services, community legal services, housing services and agencies that assist in the prevention of, and response to, family violence. </p>
<p>These funding cuts have led to reductions in staff, closing of shelters and cutting of programs with the mandate of responding to and preventing violence in our community.</p>
<p>For this reason, the Victorian government must appreciate that funding a commission in itself will not be enough to effect real change. Significant funding commitments will be needed to ensure that the commission’s recommendations are achievable and that the services, agencies and responses proposed are not starved of the resources that preventing violence against women, children and men have long required.</p>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>While we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of attention being paid to this issue, it will be essential that the royal commission results in meaningful change to a system that has long failed to respond adequately to and prevent the scourge of family violence.</p>
<p>This is an opportunity for Victoria to be a national leader by better protecting the lives of so many victims of family violence who often exist in silence. The commission must find a way to give voice to their experiences, to ensure that the system responds more effectively and efficiently from this point forward. Too many lives depend on it.</p>
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<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36510/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Fitz-Gibbon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It is difficult to capture just how important a royal commission with this focus is. For too long, family violence has taken, threatened and pervaded the lives of so many in the Victorian community.Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.