tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia-11636/articlesDomestic violence in Australia – The Conversation2023-12-03T23:10:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2166302023-12-03T23:10:52Z2023-12-03T23:10:52ZFor domestic violence victim-survivors, a data or privacy breach can be extraordinarily dangerous<p>A suite of recent cybersecurity data breaches highlight an urgent need to overhaul how companies and government agencies handle our data. But these incidents pose particular risks to victim-survivors of domestic violence.</p>
<p>In fact, authorities across Australia and the United Kingdom are raising concerns about how privacy breaches have endangered these customers.</p>
<p>The onus is on service providers – such as utilities, telcos, internet companies and government agencies – to ensure they don’t risk the safety of their most vulnerable customers by being careless with their data. </p>
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<h2>A suite of incidents</h2>
<p>Earlier this year, the UK Information Commissioner reported it had <a href="https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2023/09/data-breaches-put-domestic-abuse-victims-lives-at-risk-uk-information-commissioner-warns/">reprimanded</a> seven organisations since June 2022 for privacy breaches affecting victims of domestic abuse.</p>
<p>These included organisations revealing the safe addresses of the victims to their alleged abuser. In one case, a family had to be moved immediately to emergency accommodation. </p>
<p>In another case, an organisation disclosed the home address of two children to their birth father (who was in prison for raping their mother).</p>
<p>The UK Information Commissioner has called for better training and processes. This includes regular verification of contact information and securing data against unauthorised access. </p>
<p>In 2021, the Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/AICmr/2021/12.html">took action against Services Australia</a> for disclosing a victim-survivor’s new address to her former partner. </p>
<p>The commissioner ordered a written apology and a A$19,980 compensation payment. It also ordered an independent audit of how Services Australia updates contact details for separating couples with shared records.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/about-the-OAIC/our-corporate-information/oaic-annual-reports/annual-report-201819/part-2-performance">earlier case</a> involved a telecommunications company and the publisher of a public directory. </p>
<p>The commissioner ordered them each to pay $20,000 to a victim of domestic violence whose details were made public, which jeopardised her safety. </p>
<p>More recently, the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria reported a <a href="https://www.ewov.com.au/reports/annual-report-2023">case</a> where an electricity provider inadvertently provided a woman’s new address to her ex-partner. The woman had to buy security cameras for protection. The company has since revised its procedures.</p>
<p>The Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria has also <a href="https://www.ewov.com.au/reports/annual-report-2023">reviewed complaints</a> received in 2022-23 related to domestic violence. These include failing to flag accounts of victims who disclosed abuse, as well as potentially unsafe consumer automation and data governance processes.</p>
<p>The Victorian Essential Services Commission <a href="https://www.esc.vic.gov.au/water/sector-performance-and-reporting/compliance-and-enforcement-water-sector/south-east-water-corporation-enforceable-undertaking-2023">accepted a court-enforceable undertaking</a> from a water company that it would improve processes after allegations its actions put customers affected by family violence at risk.</p>
<p>The commission found the company failed to adequately protect the personal information of two separate customers in 2021 and 2022, by sending correspondence with their personal information to the wrong addresses. </p>
<p>In both cases, the customer had not disclosed their experience of domestic violence. Nevertheless, the regulator noted these “erroneous information disclosures put these customers at risk of harm”.</p>
<p>Australia’s Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman received about <a href="https://www.tio.com.au/news/better-consumer-protection-rules-are-needed-telco-consumers-suffering-family-violence">300 complaints</a> involving domestic violence in 2022-23, with almost two-thirds relating to mobile phones.</p>
<p>Complaints included instances of telcos disclosing the addresses of victim-survivors to perpetrators or of frontline staff not believing victim-survivors. There were also cases of telcos insisting a consumer experiencing family violence contact the perpetrator of family violence. The report noted:</p>
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<p>For example, one person was asked by her telco to bring her abusive ex-partner into a store to change her number to her new account. </p>
<p>We’ve also had complaints about telcos disconnecting the services of a consumer experiencing family violence – sometimes at the request of the account holder who is the perpetrator of the violence – despite access to those services being critical to the consumer staying safe.</p>
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<p>The Australian Financial Complaints Authority <a href="https://www.afca.org.au/news/information-for-consumer-advocates/supporting-people-impacted-by-domestic-violence">resolved more than 500 complaints</a> from people experiencing domestic and family violence in 2021-22, including those related to privacy breaches.</p>
<h2>Change is slowly under way</h2>
<p>In May, <a href="https://www.aemc.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-09/RRC0042%20-%20Protecting%20customers%20affected%20by%20family%20violence%20-%20Final%20Determination_clean.pdf">new national rules</a> came into force to provide better protection and support to energy customers experiencing domestic violence.</p>
<p>These rules mandate retailers prioritise customer safety and protect their personal information. This includes account security measures to prevent perpetrators from accessing victim-survivors’ sensitive data. </p>
<p>They also prohibit the disclosure of information without consent. In issuing its rules, the Australian Energy Markets Commission noted the heightened risk of partner homicides following separations. </p>
<p>The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman has called for <a href="https://www.tio.com.au/news/better-consumer-protection-rules-are-needed-telco-consumers-suffering-family-violence">mandatory, uniform and enforceable rules</a>. The current voluntary industry code and guidelines fall short in protecting phone and internet customers experiencing domestic violence. </p>
<p>New rules should include training, policies and recognition of violence as a cause of payment difficulties. They should also factor in how service suspension or disconnection affects victim-survivors.</p>
<p>The Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/newsroom/communications-law-bulletin-interview-with-commissioner-falk">said</a> last year:</p>
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<p>Sadly, we continue to receive cases of improper disclosure of personal information off line by businesses to ex partners who target women in family disputes and domestic violence. All of these issues reinforce the need for privacy by design.</p>
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<p>In its response to a <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-09/government-response-privacy-act-review-report.PDF">review of the Privacy Act</a>, the government has agreed the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner should help develop guidance to reduce risk to customers. </p>
<p>We must work harder to ensure data and privacy breaches do not leave victim-survivors of domestic violence at greater risk from perpetrators.</p>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family and 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/216630/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Fitzpatrick is the author of Designed to Disrupt for the Centre for Women's Economic Safety, which aims to improve financial safety in financial and essential services through reimagined product design. She is a former bank executive with roles managing customer complaints, domestic violence support and government relations. She has previously been engaged as a speaker for the Essential Services Commission and as a consultant to a Victoria water company.</span></em></p>Authorities across Australia and the UK are sounding the alarm about how data breaches have endangered domestic violence victim-survivors.Catherine Fitzpatrick, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1951972022-12-07T04:45:47Z2022-12-07T04:45:47ZFamily violence can include fire threats and burning. We can do more to protect women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499385/original/file-20221206-26-41dnqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=95%2C344%2C4793%2C2909&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-depressed-woman-domestic-rape-violencebeaten-1022172910">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Using fire and burning, and threats to burn, as part of family violence is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10345329.2022.2095794?journalCode=rcic20">more common</a> than many people realise. These tools and tactics are used to <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/publication/defining-and-responding-to-coercive-control/">coercively control</a> a partner or ex-partner. </p>
<p>Recent legal cases highlight the issue. As one of several acts of family violence against his partner, <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWDC/2020/210.html">Brett</a> doused her in diesel and set her hair alight. Similarly, one of <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VSCA/2014/222.html">Michael’s</a> acts of violence against his partner was to splash her with turpentine and threaten to “watch her burn”. </p>
<p>Other acts of family violence include burning the survivor’s <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VCC/2021/701.html">clothing</a> or her <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/vic/VCC/2021/1600.html">furniture</a>.</p>
<p>Yet the threat of fire and burning isn’t routinely considered by police and family violence safety services in their risk assessments and safety planning for women who have experienced family violence. </p>
<h2>How do perpetrators use fire and burning?</h2>
<p>After separation, abusive partners sometimes <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10345329.2022.2095794?journalCode=rcic20">use fire</a> to punish their partners for leaving them. The time soon after <a href="https://dfvbenchbook.aija.org.au/dynamics-of-domestic-and-family-violence/factors-affecting-risk/">separation</a> is particularly risky for survivors. </p>
<p>Rowan Baxter set alight and killed <a href="https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/723664/cif-hannah-clarke-aaliyah-baxter-laianah-baxter-trey-baxter-and-rowan-baxter.pdf">Hannah Clarke</a> and their children soon after they separated. Similarly, recently separated <a href="https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/723372/cif-langham-and-hely.pdf">Doreen Langham</a> and her ex-partner Gary Hely died in a house fire. The coroner found Hely intentionally lit the fire. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hannah-clarke-inquest-reveals-yet-again-significant-system-failures-heres-whats-urgently-needed-for-womens-safety-186050">The Hannah Clarke inquest reveals, yet again, significant system failures. Here's what's urgently needed for women's safety</a>
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<p>Burns can easily be explained away as an accident, especially to those who are not aware of the connections between family violence and the use of fire and burning. This is particularly a concern where the injured woman is unable to tell her story. </p>
<p>Using, or threatening to use, fire is so dangerous because once ignited it spreads easily. It can cause extreme damage, pain, and trauma and, if the woman survives, the <a href="https://burnstrauma.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41038-019-0163-2">impact of injuries</a> can be lifelong.</p>
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<img alt="Smoke alarm" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499389/original/file-20221206-21-w85ujq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499389/original/file-20221206-21-w85ujq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499389/original/file-20221206-21-w85ujq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499389/original/file-20221206-21-w85ujq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499389/original/file-20221206-21-w85ujq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499389/original/file-20221206-21-w85ujq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499389/original/file-20221206-21-w85ujq.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">
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<span class="caption">Perpetrators of family violence sometimes use fire and burning to coercively control or punish their partner or former partner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smoke-detector-interlinked-fire-alarm-action-2044171184">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The use of fire and burning has long been identified as a form of family violence in South Asian countries. In India, for example, a very <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1016/j.rhm.2016.05.004">high proportion of deaths</a> from fire are acknowledged as likely to be associated with family violence. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2516602620959060">Kerosene burning</a> is considered a unique form of family violence in India. </p>
<p>However, burn-related violence against women and girls has been reported from countries across the world, regardless of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15248380211048445">national income</a>. Perpetrators of burn-related violence are mostly the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15248380211048445">partners or ex-partners</a> of injured women. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-clinical-psychiatrist-reveals-how-indian-women-in-australia-experience-family-violence-and-how-to-combat-it-184468">A clinical psychiatrist reveals how Indian women in Australia experience family violence – and how to combat it</a>
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<h2>We need to collect better data</h2>
<p>Australia has been slow to recognise and address the link between family violence and burning or threats to burn. This is, in part, due to limited data collection. </p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305417918305783">small Australian study</a> is the exception. This study conducted at the Royal Darwin Hospital, found women were more likely to be burnt, or were threatened with burning, during interpersonal violence, compared to men. Over 80% of the victims who suffered burns in this context required surgery, with many requiring skin grafts. </p>
<p>However, there’s more we can do right now. Existing burns data held in emergency clinics across Australia should be analysed to identify the links. This would provide a greater understanding of how common this form of family violence really is. </p>
<h2>Assessing the threat</h2>
<p>We should develop our risk assessment tools so those who provide support to survivors of family violence – such as police, health workers and family violence support workers – recognise fire and burning threats.</p>
<p>Threats to cause harm are recognised in <a href="https://dfvbenchbook.aija.org.au/dynamics-of-domestic-and-family-violence/factors-affecting-risk/or">Australian risk assessment tools</a> but they do not consider fire and burning threats. For example, while threats to cause harm are recognised in Victoria’s <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/family-violence-multi-agency-risk-assessment-and-management-framework">Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework</a>, fire and burning threats are not mentioned. </p>
<p>Improved recognition of the risk of fire, burning and threats to burn may have positive implications for safety planning and prevention. This might include arranging alternative housing, upgrading smoke alarms and disposing of fire accelerants. </p>
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<img alt="Social talks to young woman" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499390/original/file-20221207-23-frkdm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499390/original/file-20221207-23-frkdm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499390/original/file-20221207-23-frkdm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499390/original/file-20221207-23-frkdm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499390/original/file-20221207-23-frkdm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499390/original/file-20221207-23-frkdm0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499390/original/file-20221207-23-frkdm0.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">
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<span class="caption">Risk assessment tools should identify the threat of fire and burning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-teacher-therapist-social-worker-talking-2113724357">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Notably, in risk assessments undertaken by police before Doreen Langham’s death, fire threat was not identified. However, her ex-partner, Gary Hely, had previously been investigated for setting fire to another ex-partner’s home just five years earlier. </p>
<p>If Hely’s suspected fire setting had been identified as a risk factor, the history might have been uncovered and more appropriate safety planning undertaken. This might have saved her.</p>
<h2>Fire services have an important role</h2>
<p>Australian fire services could play an enhanced role in preventing, recognising and responding to fire related family violence. We could model the approach of England, where fire services have been part of the family safety response for more than ten years. </p>
<p>English fire service representatives contribute to family violence risk assessments and are represented in <a href="https://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/public-safety/campaigns/awareness-campaigns/domestic-abuse">high-risk teams</a> working with survivors to keep them safe. English fire services also provide enhanced home fire safety checks for those who are identified to be at risk. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-family-violence-young-women-are-too-often-ignored-190547">When it comes to family violence, young women are too often ignored</a>
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<p>Australian fire services do not collect data that allows identification of connections between fire and family violence. Collection of this type of data would be useful in improving understanding, recognition and prevention of family violence related fire incidents. The Victorian fire service, for instance, doesn’t include intentional arson deaths when publishing <a href="https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=WTWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.weeklytimesnow.com.au%2Fnews%2Fvictoria%2Ffire-fatalities-frv-excludes-deliberately-lit-fires%2Fnews-story%2F1c10e46fb67f4cd0e59cfba51e50338c&memtype">statistics on arson deaths</a>. Yet this is important information. </p>
<p>An enhanced role for fire services would require employees receive family violence training so they can recognise family violence, know how to properly secure any potential crime scene and how to respond to, and work with, survivors. Fire service staff should also have access to <a href="https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/report/staff-wellbeing-fire-rescue-victoria?section=">mental health support</a> after attending family violence related fires. </p>
<p>Fire services aren’t currently part of Australia’s family violence safety system, but including them could save lives.</p>
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<p><em>If this article raises issues for you or someone you know, contact <a href="https://1800respect.org.au/">1800 RESPECT</a> (1800 737 732). In an emergency, call 000.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Douglas receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yvonne Singer 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>The threat of fire and burning as a tool of family violence isn’t routinely assessed and addressed in Australia.Heather Douglas, Professor of Law, The University of MelbourneYvonne Singer, BRANZ Research Fellow/Burns Program Coordinator, Victorian Adult Burn Service, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1591322021-04-21T20:14:40Z2021-04-21T20:14:40ZHow intimate partner violence affects children’s health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396196/original/file-20210421-19-bscgc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5526%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Childhood should be a happy and carefree time, but often it doesn’t work out that way. Children are exposed to all the stresses and strains that affect the families and communities in which they grow up. Recent <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3048">research</a> shows this can have lifelong implications for health.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/12/e040891">study</a> conducted by our research group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, we found one in three children (and their mothers) in the study had experienced intimate partner violence or domestic abuse by the time the children in the study turned ten.</p>
<p>Findings from the same study, published today in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2020-320321">British Medical Journal’s Archives of Childhood Disorders</a>, show children exposed to intimate partner violence by age ten are two to three times more likely to have a psychiatric diagnosis and/or emotional and behavioural difficulties.</p>
<p>And it isn’t just children’s mental health affected, but their physical health and development too. We found children exposed to intimate partner violence were also two to three times more likely to have impaired language skills, sleep problems, elevated blood pressure and asthma.</p>
<p>Mothers in the study completed questionnaires three, six and 12 months after giving birth, and in the fourth and tenth years after having their first child.</p>
<p>At age ten, we studied a smaller group of the children via face-to-face activities designed to assess their cognitive and language development. We also interviewed mothers to assess their child’s mental health. </p>
<h2>How can services and schools help?</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2020-320321">findings</a> have important implications for policy. Up to half of all children in our study who had language difficulties and mental and physical health problems had been exposed to intimate partner violence before age ten.</p>
<p>The findings highlight the need for health services and schools to be very attentive to the role intimate partner violence might be playing in children’s health, behaviour and language development. </p>
<p>If child health services and schools don’t recognise and respond to intimate partner violence, interventions to support children with health and developmental problems are likely to be less effective. </p>
<p>Given one in three families are affected, and an even higher proportion of children experience health and language difficulties, this shouldn’t be something health services and schools put in the “too hard basket”. </p>
<h2>Mothers’ and children’s health are linked</h2>
<p>Our research highlights the extent to which the health and well-being of mothers and their children are inextricably linked. In our paper <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/12/e040891">published in BMJ Open</a> earlier this year, we showed mothers who had experienced intimate partner violence in the ten years after the birth of their first child were three to five times more likely to experience anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms. And they were around twice as likely to experience back pain and incontinence.</p>
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<img alt="Mother giving a piggyback to child" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396202/original/file-20210421-17-muy20h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396202/original/file-20210421-17-muy20h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396202/original/file-20210421-17-muy20h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396202/original/file-20210421-17-muy20h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396202/original/file-20210421-17-muy20h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396202/original/file-20210421-17-muy20h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/396202/original/file-20210421-17-muy20h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The health of mothers and their children are tightly connected.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>This extra burden of ill health experienced by both women and children exposed to intimate partner violence compounds other social and economic challenges women face in trying to achieve safety for themselves and their children. It’s critical women and children in need of support to heal and recover from the impact of intimate partner violence are able to access affordable and culturally appropriate health care.</p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32266870/">Studies consistently show</a> there are many barriers women have to overcome, including shame, fear of judgement, and cost and availability of health care and other support services in regional communities. For women whose first language isn’t English, and Aboriginal women, there are extra cultural, language and systems-level barriers. Systems-level barriers include the persistence of cultural stereotypes, limited availability of language services, and experiences of discrimination when seeking care and support. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tackling-economic-abuse-of-women-must-be-part-of-our-domestic-violence-response-48376">Tackling economic abuse of women must be part of our domestic violence response</a>
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<h2>Achieving the best possible outcomes</h2>
<p>While the type and severity of adversity may overwhelm some children, there’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30975671/">evidence</a> individual skills (such as the ability to regulate emotions), relationships with extended family, and supportive school environments that foster a sense of belonging do support children’s resilience.</p>
<p>Communities, schools and health services all have important roles to play in fostering children’s resilience and supporting mothers to access care for their children when needed. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/acting-on-family-violence-how-the-health-system-can-step-up-45592">Acting on family violence: how the health system can step up</a>
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<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 28 languages other than English.</em></p>
<p><em>If this article has raised issues for you or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Brown receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Royal Children's Hospital Research Foundation and the Geoff and Helen Handbury Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deirdre Gartland receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Royal Children’s Hospital Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Children exposed to intimate partner violence were two to three times more likely to have impaired language skills, sleep problems, elevated blood pressure and asthma.Stephanie Brown, Senior Principal Research Fellow, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteDeirdre Gartland, Research Fellow and Co-leader Strengthening Families Stream, Intergenerational Health Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1122882019-03-14T06:26:24Z2019-03-14T06:26:24ZDowry abuse does exist, but let’s focus on the wider issues of economic abuse and coercive control<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262350/original/file-20190306-48429-1ps43ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia's Senate inquiry was unable to report on the prevalence of dowry and dowry abuse in Australia. Data is sketchy and evidence anecdotal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rina’s marriage problems began two days before her wedding, when her fiance’s parents demanded gold and a car. Her parents agreed to part of the demands to ensure the planned marriage went ahead. </p>
<p>But the 27-year-old Indian woman’s marriage to a man in Melbourne would last just eight months, as abusive behaviour by her husband and new in-laws escalated.</p>
<p>Dowries – where the bride’s parents are forced to give valuable gifts to the husband’s parents – have been officially banned for decades in India. But dowry traditions continue to live on throughout South Asia and in the Middle East. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-gold-prices-go-up-so-does-the-cost-of-a-dowry-and-baby-girl-survival-rates-in-india-fall-96061">When gold prices go up, so does the cost of a dowry – and baby girl survival rates in India fall</a>
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<p>As <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19438192.2019.1558757">Rina’s story shows</a>, it has also been imported into expatriate communities in Australia. </p>
<p>To what extent remains unknown. The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/DowryAbuse/Report">Senate inquiry into Dowry and Dowry Abuse</a> was asked to report on the prevalence of dowry in Australia. But its final report, published last month, says there is insufficient data to do so, with the available evidence on dowry abuse “largely anecdotal”. </p>
<p>The inquiry decided not to recommend a specific law against dowry. It has instead recommended that “economic abuse” be included as a form of family violence in the Family Law Act, and that dowry abuse be included in a “non-exhaustive list” of examples of economic abuse.</p>
<p>This seems to me the right approach, based on the stories Rina and others told me as part of my research into financial and domestic abuse. Of 17 stories from Indian migrants, only Rina’s involved dowry abuse.</p>
<p>Rather than focusing on specific cultural practices, with the danger of demonising specific minority communities, we need to concentrate on economic abuse in whatever form it takes.</p>
<h2>Rina’s story</h2>
<p>I heard Rina’s story as part of the comparative research I did with Marg Liddell and Jasvinder Sidhu on money, gender and family violence. We listened to 17 Indian migrants, 13 Anglo-Celtic women and 17 community leaders, service providers and leaders of faith communities. We found our interviewees through professional, personal and community networks. </p>
<p>Their stories demonstrated that economic abuse was not limited by culture. Dowry abuse was just one example of many different forms of economic abuse. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-care-becomes-control-financial-abuse-cuts-across-cultures-70754">When care becomes control - financial abuse cuts across cultures</a>
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<p>What is economic abuse? It is any type of economic control or exploitation. It might involve preventing a partner from getting work, so as to control how much money they have. It might include determining what they can spend money on. It might involve insisting on access to bank accounts or controlling other assets.</p>
<p>In Rina’s case, most of her jewellery was kept in a bank locker under her father-in-law’s name in India (her in-laws nonetheless remained dissatisfied with the dowry they had received). With no job or money or bank account of her own, she was completely dependent on handouts from her husband. In her first six months in Australia, she said, he gave her just $100 in spending money. </p>
<p>He was jealous and controlling in other ways, too. Though her only social activity was attending the Sikh temple each week, this didn’t stop him accusing her of having a relationship with every man she spoke with, she told me. </p>
<p>He demanded to know if she had given the man her mobile phone number, and would “snatch my phone, saying that he pays the bill so I have no right to talk to anybody”.</p>
<p>Three months into the marriage his jealousy escalated into physical abuse. Rina’s father sent her a ticket, and she returned to India. After two months she came back to Melbourne to give him another chance. But almost immediately, her husband’s behaviour left her fearing for her life. “I felt if I stayed there another night,” she said, “I would be found dead the next day.” </p>
<h2>Broader economic abuse</h2>
<p>Rina, clearly, was subjected to abuse that went way beyond dowry abuse. </p>
<p>We heard other stories of economic abuse involving no dowry. </p>
<p><a href="https://rdcu.be/boMMb">In Asha’s case</a>, her husband wanted to control the money she earned, dictating how she spent it and preventing her from sending any to help her family in India. </p>
<p>She had originally come to Australia to study. Her husband was a fellow Indian student. Before and after they got married, she was the principal income earner.</p>
<p>Once they were married, she said, he wanted to control all the money. “You should be giving all your money to me,” she says he told her. “You are now a member of my family.” While he failed to pay an equal share of their bills, she recalls him criticising her for overspending on a $2 bag of papadums. </p>
<p>About six months into their marriage, he kicked her in the stomach. “I could take the emotional abuse,” she said. “I could take the verbal abuse, but I could not comprehend a man beating me.”</p>
<p>Such controlling behaviour is by no means a feature of one culture. </p>
<p>One of our Anglo-Celtic stories involved Carol. A teacher in her late 60s, she put her savings of $60,000 and her salary into a joint account with her second husband. Though she was the main and only reliable earner, he questioned every item of expenditure, every gift she wanted to give. </p>
<p>“He took it all,” Carol said. As their relationship deteriorated she increasingly feared physical violence. She recalled one occasion where she hid in a walk-in wardrobe for three hours: “I’d nearly gone crazy.”</p>
<p>Such stories show it would make little sense for social policy or law makers to focus on one narrow, culturally specific manifestation of economic abuse.</p>
<h2>Coercive control</h2>
<p><a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1077801209347452">Coercive control</a> underlies economic abuse as with other dimensions of family violence.</p>
<p>It works through “malevolent” conduct over time to instil fear and isolate the women. Its tactics lead to women feeling they are poor mothers, wives, home makers and sexual partners. It has a devastating effect on women from all backgrounds and walks of life across Australia. </p>
<p>Changing the Family Law Act to recognise economic abuse as a form of domestic violence (and dowry abuse as a form of economic abuse) is a good start.</p>
<p>But we would do well to go further, and have a conversation about criminalising the coercive and controlling behaviour behind economic abuse. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-should-be-cautious-about-introducing-laws-on-coercive-control-to-stem-domestic-violence-87579">Australia should be cautious about introducing laws on coercive control to stem domestic violence</a>
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<p>This has been done in England and Wales (2015), Scotland (2018) and Ireland (2018). These new laws have drawn attention to the need to think of family violence as more than separate incidents of physical assault. </p>
<p>The emphasis on coercive control requires a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12227">different type of policing</a>. It looks at a pattern of behaviour that is corrosive, involving emotional, economic, sexual and physical abuse. It’s this pattern of controlling and coercive behaviour that is criminalised.</p>
<p>Nothing ever happened to the abusers of Rina, Asha and Carol. Criminalising coercive control would have ensured they were properly held to account.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112288/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>Rather than focusing on specific cultural practices, we need to concentrate on all forms of economic abuse as coercive control.Supriya Singh, Professor, Sociology of Communications, Graduate School of Business & Law, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1073632018-11-29T19:11:16Z2018-11-29T19:11:16ZFour in ten Australians think women lie about being victims of sexual assault<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247887/original/file-20181129-170244-t6cfce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Two in five Australian women have experienced physical or sexual violence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/oeghhMy5jz0">Jorge Flores</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Four in ten Australians (42%) think sexual assault accusations are a way of getting back at men, according to the fourth <a href="http://ncas.anrows.org.au">National Community Attitudes Survey</a> (NCAS) on violence against women, released today. </p>
<p>Almost the same proportion (43%) believe women “make up” claims of abuse when going through child custody battles in court. </p>
<p>Yet research shows false allegations are rare. In fact, sexual assault, harassment and domestic violence are <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4530.0%7E2016-17%7EMain%20Features%7EReporting%20of%20crime%20to%20police%7E7">_under-reported to police</a>. </p>
<p>Violence against women is common, with <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4906.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EKey%20Findings%7E1">two out of every five Australian women</a> experiencing some form of physical or sexual violence since the age of 15, and much of it from a male partner or ex-partner. </p>
<p>NCAS is a federally funded survey conducted by the independent research organisation <a href="https://www.anrows.org.au/">ANROWS</a> in 2017. It involved 17,500 phone interviews with a representative sample of Australians aged 16 years and older. It’s the third such national survey, allowing us to compare responses with those in 2009 and 2013.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rape-culture-why-our-community-attitudes-to-sexual-violence-matter-31750">Rape culture: why our community attitudes to sexual violence matter</a>
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<p>It’s not all bad news. The results show a majority of Australians understand that physical assault, emotional abuse and controlling behaviour are forms of violence against women, and are common in our community. </p>
<p>Consistent investment in programs and campaigns has had a positive impact on reducing attitudes that support violence such as minimising and excusing. Out of a score of 100, the average score has reduced from 36 in 2013 to 33 in 2017.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247757/original/file-20181128-32221-g391hi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247757/original/file-20181128-32221-g391hi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247757/original/file-20181128-32221-g391hi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247757/original/file-20181128-32221-g391hi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=219&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247757/original/file-20181128-32221-g391hi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247757/original/file-20181128-32221-g391hi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247757/original/file-20181128-32221-g391hi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ANROWS</span></span>
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<h2>Blaming the victim</h2>
<p>The survey found one in three Australians believe women are partly responsible for relationship violence if they do not leave a violent partner (32%). </p>
<p>Another third (30%) believe if a woman sends a nude image to her partner, she is partly responsible if he shares it without her permission. </p>
<p>When questions are asked about the role of alcohol in relation to violence, 8% attribute responsibility and blame to women who were raped while alcohol- or drug-affected. Some 12% of Australians absolve men of blame if they are alcohol- or drug-affected at the time they perpetrate rape. </p>
<p>Two out of ten Australians (21%) believe because women express themselves sexually in public it’s not surprising men think they can touch them without permission.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/be-careful-posting-images-online-is-just-another-form-of-modern-day-victim-blaming-64116">'Be careful posting images online' is just another form of modern-day victim-blaming</a>
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<p>When victim-blaming attitudes are held by a substantial proportion of people, or influential people such as police, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/magistrate-condemned-for-comment-over-alleged-rape/news-story/373ccb8945be062a1dbe2e4759c8251e?from=rss-basic">judges</a> and health professionals, they can present barriers to victims seeking support or reporting the abuse. </p>
<p>Such attitudes also shift responsibility away from the perpetrators of violence, contributing to a culture in which perpetrator behaviour is at best not clearly condemned, or at worst, is actively condoned.</p>
<h2>Disregard for consent</h2>
<p>One in ten Australians believe if a woman is drunk and starts having sex with a man, but then falls asleep, it is understandable if he continues to have sex with her. </p>
<p>The survey also asked Australians to respond to a scenario where a woman takes her husband into the bedroom, starts kissing him, then pushes him away, not wanting to continue with sex. More than one in ten (15%) believed her husband would have been justified in having sex with her anyway. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247882/original/file-20181129-170250-rfbpp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247882/original/file-20181129-170250-rfbpp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247882/original/file-20181129-170250-rfbpp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247882/original/file-20181129-170250-rfbpp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247882/original/file-20181129-170250-rfbpp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247882/original/file-20181129-170250-rfbpp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247882/original/file-20181129-170250-rfbpp6.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">
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<span class="caption">Many Australians seem unclear of what constitutes consent.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/PLDkBHbM3Hc">Nicolas Thomas</a></span>
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<p>Disregarding consent for touching women, sending nude photos or persisting with sex when a woman does not, or cannot give consent, are criminal offences in Australia.</p>
<p>These findings are significant because they indicate a concerning proportion of Australians are unclear about what constitutes consent, and the line between consensual sex and coercion. </p>
<h2>Mistrusting women’s reports</h2>
<p>As well as thinking women make up claims of abuse, one quarter (23%) of Australians believe women exaggerate the problem of male violence. </p>
<p>Almost a third (31%) believe that a lot of times women who say they were raped had “led the man on” and then had regrets. </p>
<p>Attitudes that suggest women lie to “get back at men” are particularly concerning in light of the high levels of violence against women, as well as under-reporting of these crimes. The fear of not being believed or taken seriously presents a barrier for women seeking help and support. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-still-trivialise-and-excuse-violence-against-women-31420">Australians still trivialise and excuse violence against women</a>
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<p>Attitudes are a barometer of socially acceptable behaviour – and changing attitudes is often the first step toward changing behaviour. Attitudes can mean a perpetrator being held to account, instead of his behaviour being ignored. Or a bystander taking action, rather than turning a blind eye. </p>
<h2>And now for the good news</h2>
<p>One of the pillars of <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-to-reduce-violence-against-women-and-their-children-2010-2022">The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010 – 2022</a> has been to support attitude change as a first step to reducing prevalence of violence against women. </p>
<p>The NCAS survey shows there has been an increase in the understanding of violence against women, moving from an average score of 64 to 70, and improvement in support for gender equality moving from an average score of 64 to 66.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247758/original/file-20181128-32191-1luwim9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247758/original/file-20181128-32191-1luwim9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247758/original/file-20181128-32191-1luwim9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247758/original/file-20181128-32191-1luwim9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=212&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247758/original/file-20181128-32191-1luwim9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247758/original/file-20181128-32191-1luwim9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247758/original/file-20181128-32191-1luwim9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=266&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Knowledge of violence against women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ANROWS</span></span>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247759/original/file-20181128-32197-u7wmeb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247759/original/file-20181128-32197-u7wmeb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247759/original/file-20181128-32197-u7wmeb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247759/original/file-20181128-32197-u7wmeb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247759/original/file-20181128-32197-u7wmeb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247759/original/file-20181128-32197-u7wmeb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247759/original/file-20181128-32197-u7wmeb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Support for gender equality.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ANROWS</span></span>
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<p>Exploring the detail of the survey questions shows an improvement on 27 of the 36 individual questions asked in both 2013 and 2017.</p>
<p>While there are specific areas of concern, Australians’ knowledge of, and attitudes towards, violence against women and gender equality are gradually improving. Most Australians do not endorse this violence. </p>
<p>Australian governments have invested heavily in campaigns and programs to reduce men’s violence against women over the past ten years and the current NCAS results show that there have been some rewards.</p>
<p>Changing attitudes and improving knowledge takes time, as well as continued policy and program efforts. It’s vital that governments, organisations and communities across Australia keep up the momentum if we are to ultimately see the end of attitudes that allow violence against women to occur. http://ncas.anrows.org.au</p>
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<p><em>This article was co-authored by Violeta Politoff, Senior Researcher for ANROWS on the National Community Attitudes Survey on Violence against Women.</em> </p>
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<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family and 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/107363/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristin Diemer is a Chief Investigator for the National Community Attitudes Survey on Violence Against Women and receives funding from ANROWS (Australian National Research Organisation for Women's Safety).0</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anastasia Powell receives funding from the Australian Research Council, and Criminology Research Council. She is a Chief Investigator for the National Community Attitudes Survey on Violence Against Women and receives funding from ANROWS (Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety). Anastasia is also a member of the board of directors of Our Watch, Australia's national foundation for the prevention of violence against women. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Webster is a PhD student at the University of Melbourne writing her thesis on the NCAS. She has also been involved in project management of the NCAS since 2009.</span></em></p>Australians are more aware of domestic violence and sexual assault than before. But a worrying proportion blame victims for abuse, think women are lying, and don’t believe consent is always necessary.Kristin Diemer, Senior Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneAnastasia Powell, Associate Professor and ARC DECRA Fellow, Criminology and Justice Studies, RMIT UniversityKim Webster, PhD candidate, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1055682018-10-31T18:55:37Z2018-10-31T18:55:37ZAfter a deadly month for domestic violence, the message doesn’t appear to be getting through<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243117/original/file-20181030-76402-khljap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia has launched countless domestic violence campaigns over the years. So, why haven't they shifted public attitudes on the problem? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Castro/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On average, at least <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/understanding-violence/facts-and-figures">one woman is killed every week</a> at the hands of a current or former partner in Australia. Last month, the numbers were even more alarming. Nine women were killed in October - <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/domestic-violence-campaigner-says-women-often-trapped-by-finances/news-story/16894aa994863546f32120138a2c6809">seven</a> allegedly in the context of a current or former intimate relationship, the other two also suspected to have died at the hands of male perpetrators.</p>
<p>While these deaths are a disturbing reflection of the pervasive nature of violence against women in Australia, they have largely <a href="https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/nine-women-killed-october-where-outrage/3556823/">gone unnoticed</a>. Aside from a small number of <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjl6ImGlZ_eAhXHRo8KHc5mCjMQFjAAegQIBxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.couriermail.com.au%2Frendezview%2Foctober-has-been-hell-for-australian-women%2Fnews-story%2F846824116a1e96fc7369ad75a2c0f35b&usg=AOvVaw0dktNtQggRVJwS1v_czXxe">female journalists</a> who called on Australia’s leaders to address the crisis, the media more broadly, as well as governments and the wider public, have mostly remained silent. </p>
<p>These recent incidents raise questions around the effectiveness of awareness and educational campaigns developed under <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-to-reduce-violence-against-women-and-their-children-2010-2022">Australia’s National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children</a>, released in 2011 to improve the country’s response to domestic violence.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-violence-against-women-act-is-unlikely-to-reduce-intimate-partner-violence-heres-why-103734">The Violence Against Women Act is unlikely to reduce intimate partner violence – here's why</a>
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<h2>How well are current awareness campaigns faring?</h2>
<p>Research suggests that campaigns aimed at raising awareness about domestic violence, such as the federal government’s “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/new-campaign-targets-curbing-abusive-attitudes-towards-women/10334578">Let’s Stop it at the Start</a>” campaign, can increase public understanding of gendered violence and the types of support available for those affected. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The federal government’s ‘Let’s Stop it at it the Start’ campaign.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Evidence of this can be seen in the substantial <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-13/rise-queensland-dv-protection-orders-hailed-as-positive-outcome/8117098">increase in calls</a> to police and applications for domestic violence protection orders following the roll-out of awareness campaigns in recent years. </p>
<p>However, efforts to change public attitudes towards domestic violence, especially attitudes ascribing blame to victims, have been less successful. The <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/2013-national-community-attitudes-towards-violence-against-women-survey">National Community Attitudes Survey</a> shows persistent victim-blaming attitudes in society when it comes to this issue. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/blaming-victims-for-domestic-violence-how-psychology-taught-us-to-be-helpless-53636">Blaming victims for domestic violence: how psychology taught us to be helpless</a>
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<p>This is concerning because <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328202201_Assessing_Victim-Blaming_Attitudes_in_Cases_of_Intimate_Partner_Violence_against_Women_Development_and_validation_of_the_VB-IPVAW_Scale">research shows</a> a clear link between <a href="https://theconversation.com/blaming-victims-for-domestic-violence-how-psychology-taught-us-to-be-helpless-53636">victim-blaming</a> attitudes and the perpetration, as well as tolerance, of domestic violence. </p>
<h2>What do current campaigns get wrong?</h2>
<p>Part of the reason why current campaigns have been ineffective at changing public attitudes may lie in how they frame the issue of domestic violence. </p>
<p>Campaigns need to go beyond communicating what constitutes domestic violence in intimate relationships and where to get help. They need to explain how and why this type of violence can affect anyone. And they need to illustrate how perpetrators control their victims and manipulate those around them. </p>
<p>By failing to do so, we allow domestic violence to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/28/quit-a-model-for-reducing-family-violence">remain an issue solely of concern to victims</a>, making it less worthy of public concern. </p>
<p>A narrow focus on victim experiences and awareness creates a false and dangerous sense of security among the general public. It also perpetuates the assumption that domestic violence only impacts those who make “poor relationship choices”. And it implies that a woman’s choice in partner or her behaviour in a relationship plays a role in the domestic violence she experiences.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-australians-views-on-domestic-violence-are-cause-for-concern-but-also-hope-47405">Young Australians' views on domestic violence are cause for concern – but also hope</a>
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<p>Research clearly shows the <a href="https://theconversation.com/blaming-victims-for-domestic-violence-how-psychology-taught-us-to-be-helpless-53636">behaviour of victims</a> has little bearing on the likelihood of domestic violence in intimate relationships. Domestic violence <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-in-australia-2018/contents/summary">can happen to anyone</a>, regardless of age, race or socioeconomic status.</p>
<p>Highlighting how perpetrators manipulate their victims can be effective in bringing this to light. Perpetrators tend to be <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-bad-looks-good/201804/behind-the-fa-ade-the-socially-charming-domestic-abuser">charming, manipulative and extremely skilled at image management</a>. They are rarely openly abusive from the start. By the time their abusive behaviours become obvious, they have frequently isolated their victims and manipulated others into perceiving them as a good partner.</p>
<h2>What can we do better?</h2>
<p>Awareness campaigns should reinforce why domestic violence is everyone’s business, not just a problem for those directly affected. </p>
<p>Men play a crucial role. While men living in Australia are <a href="https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/541947/domestic-and-family-violence-death-review-and-advisory-board-annual-report-2016-17.pdf">far less likely to be killed by an intimate partner</a>, especially if they have never been abusive to that partner, women have a <a href="https://www.ourwatch.org.au/understanding-violence/facts-and-figures">one in four chance</a> of experiencing emotional, physical and/or sexual violence in at least one of their intimate relationships. </p>
<p>Instead of responding to awareness campaigns with questions about <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/challenging-the-mra-claim-of-a-domestic-violence-conspiracy/8632190">why male victims</a> are overlooked by society, men need to become a voice in this fight. </p>
<p>For those unsure how or why, activists like <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/jackson_katz_violence_against_women_it_s_a_men_s_issue?language=en">Jackson Katz</a> offer compelling reasons and strategies. As role models, men’s voices are crucial in calling out violence against women. </p>
<p>Some campaigns are starting to hold the general public accountable for violence prevention. Queensland’s <a href="https://campaigns.premiers.qld.gov.au/dosomething/">#dosomething</a> campaign, for example, emphasises that domestic violence is a societal issue that impacts everyone. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Queensland’s campaign to encourage bystanders to get involved.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Victoria’s “<a href="https://respectvictoria.vic.gov.au/community.html">Respect Women: Call it Out</a>” campaign specifically highlights the role of men in preventing domestic violence and offers user-friendly examples of how it can be done. More importantly, it removes some of the concerns that bystanders have when trying to help or speak out against this type of violence.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Victoria’s ‘Respect Women: Call It Out’ campaign.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In order to make domestic violence everyone’s business rather than an issue solely for women, awareness campaigns need to follow these examples. More importantly, they need to address how perpetrators manipulate victims, their families and their communities, and how we all play a role in speaking out against such violence. </p>
<p>If we aren’t able to do this, women’s deaths will continue to be met with silence and Australia will continue to tolerate the alarming prevalence of domestic violence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Silke Meyer currently receives research funding from the Queensland Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women, Centacare, Uniting Care Queensland and CQUniversity. She has previously received research funding from Queensland Police Services and the Department for Social Services. She is affiliated with the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board. </span></em></p>In order to change public opinion, campaigns need to move beyond awareness raising and start addressing the perpetrators and causes of domestic violence.Silke Meyer, Senior Lecturer in Domestic and Family Violence Practice, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/941022018-04-15T20:12:07Z2018-04-15T20:12:07ZFactCheck: is domestic violence the leading preventable cause of death and illness for women aged 18 to 44?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212387/original/file-20180328-109169-1q71w2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C1920%2C1264&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's not the leading cause but it is the leading contributor.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://photos.aap.com.au/search/domestic%20violence?q=%7B%22pageSize%22:25,%22pageNumber%22:22,%22Categories%22:%5B%22australian%20news%22%5D%7D">Simone Ziaziaris/AAP</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>… the leading preventable cause of death and illness for women aged 18 to 44 is violence by a partner or former partner …</p>
<p><strong>– Extract from <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/sexual-harassment-laws-in-need-of-review-20180313-p4z47x.html">an editorial</a> in The Age, March 13, 2018</strong></p>
<p>The latest available data shows that the top five causes of death, disability and illness combined for Australian women aged 15-44 years are anxiety and depression, migraine, type 2 diabetes, asthma and schizophrenia.</p>
<p>Violence (let alone the subset of family violence) doesn’t make the list.</p>
<p><strong>– Statement published on the One in Three Campaign <a href="http://www.oneinthree.com.au/misinformation/">website</a>, March 2018</strong></p>
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<p>Violence within intimate and domestic relationships in Australia is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/domestic-violence-1115">serious social problem</a> that has devastating consequences. </p>
<p>The statement that intimate partner violence or family violence is the leading preventable cause of death and illness for women aged between 15 (or 18) to 44, has been quoted by <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/sexual-harassment-laws-in-need-of-review-20180313-p4z47x.html">numerous</a> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/gps-the-front-line-in-reporting-domestic-violence/4454916">media outlets</a> and <a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/2018/03/08/09/44/international-womens-day-ipsos-domestic-abuse-sexual-harassment">advocacy groups</a>. </p>
<p>But the One in Three Campaign, an advocacy group focused on the male victims of family violence, says these statistics are misleading.</p>
<p>Who is correct?</p>
<h2>Checking the sources</h2>
<p>In response to The Conversation’s request for sources, a spokesperson for The Age pointed The Conversation to <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/our-work/preventing-violence-against-women">the website</a> of the Victorian health promotion agency, VicHealth.</p>
<p>A VicHealth spokesperson told The Conversation VicHealth’s 2004 report <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/the-health-costs-of-violence">The health costs of violence: Measuring the burden of disease caused by intimate partner violence</a> focused on Victorian women aged 15 to 44.</p>
<p>Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) did a <a href="https://anrows.org.au/resources/news/further-examination-the-burden-disease">follow-up report in 2016</a> using similar methodology, but on a national scale. The <a href="http://media.aomx.com/anrows.org.au/s3fs-public/28%2010%2016%20BOD%20Compass.pdf">ANROWS report</a> focuses on Australian women aged 18 to 44, which corresponds to The Age’s statement. </p>
<p>A spokesperson for the One in Three Campaign pointed to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/burden-of-disease-injury-australia-2003/contents/table-of-contents">Australian Burden of Disease Study 2003</a> (the current source cited on their website). The spokesperson also pointed to the more recent <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/abds-impact-and-causes-of-illness-death-2011/data">Australian Burden of Disease Study 2011</a>.</p>
<p>You can read the full response from The One in Three Campaign <a href="https://theconversation.com/full-response-for-a-spokesperson-for-the-one-in-three-campaign-for-a-factcheck-on-domestic-violence-statistics-94894">here</a>.</p>
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<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>The Age editorial used the words “leading preventable <em>cause</em> of death and illness for women aged 18 to 44”. This is incorrect. </p>
<p>It’s important to make a distinction between <em>cause</em> and <em>contributor</em> to death and illness.</p>
<p>If The Age editorial used the words “contributor to”, it would be correct, i.e. “leading preventable <em>contributor to</em> death and illness for women aged 18 to 44”.</p>
<p>The One in Three Campaign has correctly quoted the AIHW <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/burden-of-disease-injury-australia-2003/contents/table-of-contents">Australian Burden of Disease Study 2003</a>. But it is not accurate to say the 2003 report is the “latest available data”, as the <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/d4df9251-c4b6-452f-a877-8370b6124219/19663.pdf.aspx?inline=true">Australian Burden of Disease Study 2011</a> is the most recent data. </p>
<p>The findings, however, did not change a great deal between the 2003 and 2011 Australian Burden of Disease reports, in terms of the top causes of death, injury and illness. </p>
<p>If One in Three used the words “previous and current data shows”, and updated its reference, the claim would be correct.</p>
<p>While both of these claims are close to being correct, neither is complete. </p>
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<h2>Cause versus contributor</h2>
<p>To give the full picture of how domestic violence is related to death, injury and illness, we need to look at causes of death, injury and illness, <em>and</em> the contributors to those causes. </p>
<p>If we were talking about lung disease, for instance, we would treat that as a “cause” of illness, but we would also consider whether a person was a heavy smoker (a contributor). </p>
<p>Likewise, if we were to look at the number of people whose deaths were due to type 2 diabetes (the cause), we would be interested in knowing whether those people had an unhealthy diet (a contributor). </p>
<p>Intimate partner violence can be treated as either a cause of death, injury and illness in its own right (as a subset of violence), or a contributor to other causes, such as depression and anxiety. </p>
<p>Intimate partner violence can be a leading <em>contributor</em> to death, injury and illness among women, without being among the leading <em>causes</em>. Looking at it from one perspective alone doesn’t provide a complete picture. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-is-there-a-link-between-early-and-easier-access-to-violent-tv-and-domestic-violence-51461">FactCheck: is there a link between early and easier access to violent TV and domestic violence?</a>
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<h2>One in Three: causes of illness and death</h2>
<p>The claim by the One in Three Campaign is based on the AIHW <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease/burden-of-disease-injury-australia-2003/contents/table-of-contents">Australian Burden of Disease Study 2003</a>. This looks at the burden of death, injury and illness for all Australians, as well as providing breakdowns by age and sex. </p>
<p>The 2003 AIHW report is not the latest available data but the more recent <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/d4df9251-c4b6-452f-a877-8370b6124219/19663.pdf.aspx?inline=true">Australian Burden of Disease Study 2011</a> contains basically the same results, in terms of the top causes of death, injury and illness. </p>
<p>The report used a range of data sources to look at different types of death, injury and illness, and considered how each of those contributed to the total “burden of disease”. </p>
<p>The “burden of disease” is based on a calculation of the number of years lost across a specified population due to premature death and years of “healthy” life lost due to disability arising from injury or illness. These years are called “disability-adjusted life years”. </p>
<p>According to that report, intimate partner violence was not among the top causes of death for women. Homicide and violence is the 26th highest cause of death, disability and illness.</p>
<p>The One in Three Campaign talked about the top five <em>causes</em> of death, disability and illness. The illnesses they referred to were the leading causes of “disability-adjusted life years”. </p>
<p>So this claim is about intimate partner violence as a <em>cause</em> of death, injury and illness rather than as a <em>contributor</em> to other causes.</p>
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<p>It is important to note, however, that the 2003 AIHW report also estimated the contribution of intimate partner violence to the development of burdens such as depression and anxiety. </p>
<p>The report found intimate partner violence to be a leading risk for the development of depression and anxiety. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-is-domestic-violence-in-australia-on-the-decline-54043">FactCheck Q&A: is domestic violence in Australia on the decline?</a>
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<h2>The Age: contributors to illness and death</h2>
<p>The Age appears to be referring to a 2016 report commissioned by the not-for-profit group <a href="https://anrows.org.au/">Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety</a> (ANROWS), which superseded the 2004 VicHealth <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/search/the-health-costs-of-violence">burden of disease</a> report. </p>
<p>The ANROWS report, <a href="http://media.aomx.com/anrows.org.au/s3fs-public/28%2010%2016%20BOD%20Compass.pdf">Examination of the burden of disease of intimate partner violence against women in 2011: Final report</a>, examined the prevalence and health impacts of intimate partner violence on Australian women. It found intimate partner violence and emotional abuse, in both cohabiting and non-cohabiting relationships:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>contributes more to the [disease] burden than any other risk factor in women aged 18-44 years, more than well known risk factors like tobacco use, high cholesterol or use of illicit drugs.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The ANROWS report draws very strongly on methods and data used in the AIHW Australian Burden of Disease Study 2011, and focuses on intimate partner violence victimisation as a risk factor for death and other outcomes, such as mental and physical illness. </p>
<p>In other words, The Age claim is based on a report looking at the <em>contribution</em> of intimate partner violence to other causes of death, injury and illness – rather than as a cause in itself.</p>
<p>The report suggests intimate partner violence contributes to around 5.1% of the total “burden of disease” among women aged 18-44, making it the largest single contributor to the “burden of disease” for that group of women.</p>
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<p>The estimates reported are generally similar to other estimates (including those provided by AIHW reports) in terms of the magnitude of the burden, the diseases contributing to it and its ranking among other risk factors. </p>
<p>However, they may be slightly different due to the ANROWS report using a broad definition of intimate partner violence which includes emotional, as well as physical, abuse.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-are-up-to-21-fathers-dying-by-suicide-every-week-87308">FactCheck: are 'up to 21 fathers' dying by suicide every week?</a>
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</p>
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<h2>Different perspectives</h2>
<p>Both claims rest on information drawn from very similar sources: the AIHW Burden of Disease Study 2011 and the previous study from 2003. Although all datasets and methods come with caveats and cautions, there is no reason to believe that those sources are inaccurate.</p>
<p>The inconsistency between the claims arises from different ways of looking at the question, and different interpretations of essentially the same data. </p>
<p>Based on the reports above, a more accurate thing to say is that although intimate partner violence is not a leading <em>cause</em> of death, injury and illness among Australian women aged 18-44, it does appear to be a leading <em>contributor</em>. – <strong>Samara MacPhedran</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Blind review</h2>
<p>I agree with the conclusions of this FactCheck. It is a balanced examination of the alternative claims about the impact of domestic violence on women’s health, and highlights the differences in the direct claims of causation, as against the more indirect claims of contribution.</p>
<p>The FactCheck also rightly highlights that the definition of domestic violence has been expanded widely to move beyond physical violence, to capture more abstract forms such as emotional, psychological and financial abuse. – <strong>Terry Goldsworthy</strong></p>
<p><em>* This article has been updated after publication to clarify the data in the first chart.</em></p>
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<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212382/original/file-20180328-109169-1er5jzb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212382/original/file-20180328-109169-1er5jzb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212382/original/file-20180328-109169-1er5jzb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212382/original/file-20180328-109169-1er5jzb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212382/original/file-20180328-109169-1er5jzb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212382/original/file-20180328-109169-1er5jzb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212382/original/file-20180328-109169-1er5jzb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Conversation FactCheck is accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network.</span>
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</figure>
<p><em>The Conversation’s FactCheck unit is the first fact-checking team in Australia and one of the first worldwide to be accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network, an alliance of fact-checkers hosted at the Poynter Institute in the US. Read more <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-conversations-factcheck-granted-accreditation-by-international-fact-checking-network-at-poynter-74363">here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Have you seen a “fact” worth checking? The Conversation’s FactCheck asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at <a href="mailto:checkit@theconversation.edu.au">checkit@theconversation.edu.au</a>. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samara McPhedran receives funding from the Commonwealth of Australia through its Criminology Research Grant scheme (CRG 11/16-17).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy is affiliated with the Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence.</span></em></p>Are claims that intimate partner violence is the leading cause of death for Australian women aged 18-44 substantiated?Samara McPhedran, Senior Research Fellow, Violence Research and Prevention Program, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/292672014-08-10T21:34:34Z2014-08-10T21:34:34ZFamily violence response must tackle all forms of abuse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55747/original/z3x5d6qs-1407205398.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reducing family violence requires targeting all forms of abuse.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-134907632/stock-photo-divorce-concept.html?src=qpWttcuSsoCqzXW/l4prow-3-46">Twin Design/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “domestic violence” typically conjures images of physical assaults perpetrated by men against women and children in the home. But beneath the tip of the iceberg of severe violence lie a myriad of other damaging behaviours, including psychological and financial abuse, and emotional manipulation. </p>
<p>These are the less “visible” forms of abuse, but should not be overlooked or trivialised simply because their effects are less easily seen. To truly address family violence we need to target all forms of violent and abusive behaviour irrespective of who commits it.</p>
<h2>Violence</h2>
<p>Intimate partner violence occurs in relationships irrespective of age, sexual orientation, gender, income or ethnicity. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19837358">Research shows</a> that adolescents, young people and adults are victimised in intimate relationships, and domestic violence is observed in both <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23271429">same-sex</a> and opposite-sex relationships. </p>
<p>The nature of intimate partner violence <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf">appears to differ</a> in important ways in relation to gender. </p>
<p>Women are <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf">more likely</a> than men to experience serious physical assaults that result in injury, and are more likely to be subjected to such acts on a recurrent basis. And in cases of family homicide, women are <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23791474">over-represented</a> as victims compared to men. This <a href="http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/Fast_Facts_9.pdf">pattern</a> is also <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf">evident for</a> severe (but non-lethal) physical assaults. </p>
<p>But when it comes to other forms of violence, such as being slapped, pushed or shoved by a partner, throwing an object, or being hit by an object, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.3.2.199">international research shows</a> that roughly equal proportions of male and female partners engage in intimate partner violence. </p>
<h2>Other forms of abuse</h2>
<p>Australian data is not available, but <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17993638">Canadian research also indicates</a> that the rates of emotional manipulation by a partner do not differ substantially according to gender. </p>
<p>Emotional abuse can involve coercive control (creating an atmosphere of fear or intimidation), humiliating or degrading the partner, monitoring their behaviour, and making threats to harm loved ones. Other forms of non-physical forms of abuse include financial control. </p>
<p>These types of abuse may not cause physical harm, but are damaging nonetheless. People’s self-confidence becomes shattered, anxiety levels rise, and feelings of learnt helplessness ensue. Unsurprisingly, it is often the case that physical violence co-occurs with other non-physical forms of control and abuse. </p>
<h2>What do we know about the perpetrators?</h2>
<p>Popular culture suggests that the “profile” of a domestic abuser can be captured by a checklist of key characteristics, such as jealousy, control, manipulation, deception and charm.
While these features are present in many cases, the “possessive partner” stereotype is too simplistic. </p>
<p>A complex <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/1-10/07.html">range of attributes and circumstances</a> contribute to someone acting in a violent or abusive manner. These include: </p>
<ul>
<li>Witnessing or experiencing family violence as a child</li>
<li>Personal, cultural or peer beliefs that support the use of aggression or violence</li>
<li>Poor language (verbal) skills, which can dispose people to resolving disputes or managing their frustration with fists rather than words</li>
<li>Alcohol and drug use, which can lead people to act more aggressively </li>
<li>Mental health problems, such as depression or chronic stress<br></li>
<li>Dysfunctional personalities</li>
<li>Financial difficulties and other stressors. </li>
</ul>
<p>Many of these characteristics can be modified in treatment or other behaviour change programs, which is often the most successful way of bringing the violence to an end. </p>
<h2>What do we know about the victims?</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21807838">Women and men</a> who are subjected to intimate partner violence report a range of mental and physical health problems, chief among them fear and anxiety, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress, such as feeling emotionally numb, detached from others, and hyper-vigilant. </p>
<p>Many victims <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23745799">also report</a> increased alcohol or other substance use to help them deal with their distress. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21807838">Research shows</a> that the more frequent or recurring the abuse, the greater the mental health impacts. Thoughts of suicide are not uncommon for victims who may perceive no other means to escape their abuser. </p>
<p>The effects of recurring victimisation within an intimate relationship can also damage the victim’s social or occupational functioning. Many Australian workplaces have formalised policies or procedures to deal with family violence and to better support employees who are victims of this crime. </p>
<h2>Not just a ‘domestic’ issue</h2>
<p>Terms such as “domestic violence” have not been helpful since they inadvertently connote that the behaviour is not the business of others. To protect those at risk of harm, we need to move away from the notion that violence within intimate partnerships and families is somehow a private matter. </p>
<p>As a mature society, we must give a clear message that violence and other types of abuse within families – as with other areas in society – must be eradicated. Only with ongoing dialogue, research, and effective strategies and interventions can we begin to tackle this problem. </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>
<p><em>Read the other articles in The Conversation’s Domestic Violence in Australia series <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosemary Purcell receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Ogloff 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>The term “domestic violence” typically conjures images of physical assaults perpetrated by men against women and children in the home. But beneath the tip of the iceberg of severe violence lie a myriad…Associate Professor Rosemary Purcell, Associate Professor & Deputy Director of the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of TechnologyJames Ogloff, Professor of Forensic Behavioural Science, Director of the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/299102014-08-07T20:30:36Z2014-08-07T20:30:36ZDomestic violence orders need stronger enforcement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55909/original/tb4x9p4w-1407374837.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C2130%2C1367&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Breaches are one of the weakest links.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-2796546/stock-photo-editorial-australian-police-car.html?src=paIA3lJBLkXMs80eprS1TA-1-86">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Protection orders form a central plank of the various state and territory governments’ response to domestic violence. First introduced <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/law/slr/slr_34/slr34_4/05_Wangmann_ProtectionOrderSystem.pdf">in New South Wales</a> in the 1980s and known by a different names across Australia, protection orders are designed to provide a better, more responsive approach to domestic violence than had been provided by the criminal law. </p>
<p>Protection orders have clear benefits. They are relatively easy to obtain, address a range of behaviours beyond physical violence, look beyond incidents to the pattern of behaviour, and can be “tailor-made” to fit the needs of the victim. </p>
<p>But protection orders do not work for all victims of domestic violence. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/violence-and-mental-illness-harsh-reality-demands-sensitive-answers-23460">case of Rosie Batty</a> reminds us that even when people obtain a protection order, this does not mean that the order will be effective. Many orders are breached, often multiple times, and in this case ended in the tragic death of a child. </p>
<p>Breaches have long been seen as one of the weakest links in the effectiveness of protection orders. When a breach is not acted on appropriately, either by the police or the legal system, it undermines the effectiveness of the order, not only for that victim, but the system as a whole.</p>
<h2>How many orders are issued?</h2>
<p>The federal nature of our system means each jurisdiction has its own laws providing for protection orders, and while there is much that is shared there are also <a href="http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/Topic_Paper_19.pdf">key differences</a>. This means it can be difficult to compare statistics on orders sought, and any breaches of those orders. </p>
<p>From the data available for 2012-2013, Victoria experienced the highest number of applications, finalising <a href="http://www.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/Default/MCV_Annual_Report_2012-13.pdf">more than 33,000</a>; while Tasmania recorded the <a href="http://www.magistratescourt.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/223807/2011-2012_Annual_Report_.pdf">least applications</a>, 913. This figure includes original applications and applications to change orders. </p>
<p>Most applications involve intimate partner violence, however many also involve violence by other family members. </p>
<p>Obtaining a protection order is a civil process in which the applicant or the police (on their behalf) need to prove to the court, on the balance of probabilities, that they require the protection of an order. </p>
<p>Any breach of that order, if made, is a criminal offence. Breaches rely on enforcement – either the victim, or some other person – reporting the breach to the police.</p>
<h2>Do they work?</h2>
<p>For many people who obtain an order, it is effective. The <a href="http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/bocsar/documents/pdf/l11.pdf">last extensive evaluation</a> of apprehended violence orders in New South Wales (1997) found that for the vast majority the violence that they had been experiencing was reduced after obtaining an order. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/F/D/B/%7BFDB48386-4C5E-47C7-AD08-F245BB6D0EC6%7Dti148.pdf">2000 national study</a> of the effectiveness of legal protection for young women (aged 18 to 23) found those who sought assistance from the police and obtained a protection order did not experience any increase in the severity of violence and over time, the violence reduced. </p>
<p>However, it is also clear that many people experience breaches. In 2012-2013 there were <a href="http://www.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/Default/MCV_Annual_Report_2012-13.pdf">over 12,000 charges</a> for breach of an order laid in Victoria (with over 33,000 orders made). And in <a href="http://ntv.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014-Breaching-Safety-Final-Report.pdf">Western Australia</a>, there were 1,949 breaches reported to the police in 2011-2012, with over 5,000 orders being made in 2012-2013. </p>
<p>In NSW, the <a href="http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/2340acad17f1e8c4ca257a6700149efd/$FILE/120827%20Final%20report.pdf">Judicial Commission reported</a> that over a three year period (March 2008 to March 2011), more than 9,000 defendants were sentenced for a breach. For the same period, more than 100,000 orders were made. </p>
<p>These figures reveal a very small picture of the orders that are breached. They do not tell us how many people experienced breaches, simply the number of breaches officially reported in some way. Many breaches go unreported for a wide range of reasons, including fear that reporting may make things worse, previous poor response from the police, victims feeling they can deal with it themselves, and victims seeing the breach as minor and a waste of the police time. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55915/original/svx8v7s8-1407376900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55915/original/svx8v7s8-1407376900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55915/original/svx8v7s8-1407376900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55915/original/svx8v7s8-1407376900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55915/original/svx8v7s8-1407376900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55915/original/svx8v7s8-1407376900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55915/original/svx8v7s8-1407376900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some women report poor responses from police.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lylevincent/4234780644">Lyle Vincent/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is also clear that some victims do report breaches and do not receive the response they need. Last year University of Sydney social work academic Dr Lesley Laing <a href="http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/9267/2/It's%20like%20this%20maze.pdf">published a study of women’s experiences</a> with the NSW ADVO system. A number of women complained that police did not act on breaches, did not treat the breach as serious, and were only interested in breaches that involved physical violence. They also reported inconsistent responses from one police station to another. </p>
<p>Others complained about the court response when the police did charge the perpetrator with a breach, with very small penalties being imposed, if any, when the defendant was found guilty.</p>
<p>In a study of over 600 breaches dealt with in the Queensland Magistrates Court in 2005, Professor Heather Douglas from the University of Queensland’s school of law <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/law/slr/slr30_3/Douglas.pdf">also found</a> a pattern of police and the court system undermining the harm suffered by women, long delays in the resolution of these charges, and very low penalties, if any, imposed on a finding of guilt. </p>
<h2>Unanswered questions</h2>
<p>In the end, we do not know enough about compliance. Why do some defendants comply with orders and others do not? Are the terms of orders clear to defendants? How can we better support victims to report breaches? What happens after a report is made? How can we reduce the rate of attrition? </p>
<p>The information we have to date is either old (the NSW evaluation, for instance, is from 1997), has a small targeted sample, or has focused on the written law rather than its practice. </p>
<p>Given the different laws across Australia, we need to know whether any of these differences are meaningful in terms of safety. Do victim’s feel safer in one jurisdiction compared to another? If so, why?</p>
<p>It’s important that any study on the effectiveness of protection orders does not focus solely on breaches. Studies <a href="http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/bocsar/documents/pdf/l11.pdf">here</a> and <a href="http://www-bcf.usc.edu/%7Eidjlaw/PDF/11-2/11-2%20Ko.pdf">overseas</a> emphasise that there are many benefits from obtaining a protection order, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>a reduction in the severity and frequency of violence</li>
<li>a feeling of empowerment and strength gained from reporting the violence and being believed</li>
<li>being put in touch with other services that can assist. </li>
</ul>
<p>Protection orders represent an incredibly important tool in reducing and preventing domestic violence. The effectiveness of this tool can be enhanced by turning our attention to implementation and enforcement. </p>
<p>The prevention of domestic violence is not just a question for law. While protection orders are important, effective prevention and reduction of domestic violence will come about through more effective integration of services. Family law, child protection and other areas such as education, health, and housing need to work together to assist victims of domestic violence.</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>
<p><em>Read the other articles in The Conversation’s Domestic Violence in Australia series <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29910/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Member of the NSW Domestic Violence Coalition.</span></em></p>Protection orders form a central plank of the various state and territory governments’ response to domestic violence. First introduced in New South Wales in the 1980s and known by a different names across…Jane Wangmann, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/295372014-08-06T20:55:40Z2014-08-06T20:55:40ZWhy doesn’t she just leave? The realities of escaping domestic violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55143/original/9vmdp4mq-1406611438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C612%2C4263%2C2878&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women who've lost touch with family and friends, or have no access to funds, turn to emergency accommodation in women’s refuges.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-94153969/stock-photo-violence-in-the-family-mother-soothes-her-son.html?src=pp-recommended-167162945-eyYUjWzDwObJz3XqgI1pUQ-4">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Why doesn’t she just leave?” is the common question people ask when trying to understand domestic violence. The answer is far from straightforward. </p>
<p>Central to domestic violence is an ongoing pattern of behaviour, most often used by men, aimed at controlling women through power and fear. This is called <a href="http://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/domesticviolence/files/Evan_Stark_Article_Coercive_Control.pdf">coercive control</a> and explains how men extend their dominance in intimate relationships, which then isolates women and erodes their independence over time. </p>
<p>Imagine feeling scared in your own home – and the fear is caused by the person you loved. You’re anxious, confused and deflated from abuse endured over many years. Now imagine you have to flee your partner and home because he has threatened your life or the lives of your children: where do you go?</p>
<p>The first option women seek out is to stay with family or friends for short periods while they seek alternative housing. Depending on your income, this may be public housing, the private rental market, or sole ownership. </p>
<p>But women who’ve lost touch with family and friends, or have no access to funds, turn to emergency accommodation in women’s refuges. </p>
<h2>The last resort</h2>
<p>Refuges are funded as specialist homelessness services. The <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129542549&tab=2">Australian Institute of Health and Welfare</a> reported that in 2011-12, these services assisted almost 230,000 clients, representing one in 98 Australians. One-third (34%) of these clients were victims of domestic violence and 78% were women. </p>
<p>First, women are assessed for eligibility to access a refuge. The social worker will assess her risk and safety, establish domestic violence as the cause for homelessness, determine her income, and review her past access to services. It’s harder for women to access these services and emergency financial assistance if they’ve used them in the past when attempting to leave.</p>
<p>Often refuges are full, so women and children will be placed in a budget motel, supported by workers, for a few nights while they wait for a vacancy. </p>
<p>Refuge accommodation is often short-term basic unit housing, where women stay for an average of three to six months. Women often leave with nothing and so workers also try to source second-hand furniture, white goods, transport, and clothing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55157/original/qy9m2sz2-1406612983.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55157/original/qy9m2sz2-1406612983.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55157/original/qy9m2sz2-1406612983.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55157/original/qy9m2sz2-1406612983.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55157/original/qy9m2sz2-1406612983.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55157/original/qy9m2sz2-1406612983.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55157/original/qy9m2sz2-1406612983.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">When refuges are full, women fleeing domestic violence and their children stay in motels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelwu/181407297">MichaelWu/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During this time, women think about the possibility of laying charges against their partner, accessing emergency financial assistance, and arranging to get important documentation and other necessities. This is particularly difficult if English is their second language, they have a disability, or they lived in an isolated rural community. </p>
<p>It is virtually impossible for women to find work or continue to work under these circumstances and children are likely to miss school or will need to enrol in a new school. Under these pressured conditions, you can understand why some women return to a violent partner, especially when he says “sorry”.</p>
<h2>Another alternative</h2>
<p>The priority is for refuge workers and women to find longer-term, safe and affordable housing. But this is more difficult than it might seem: a national shortage of affordable housing means women are staying longer in refuges, preventing new women entering. </p>
<p>Acknowledging the pressures of emergency accommodation, the women’s domestic violence sector has long been advocating for women to remain in their home. The 2008 Commonwealth Government housing policy, <a href="http://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/housing-support/programs-services/homelessness/the-road-home-the-australian-government-white-paper-on-homelessness-0">The road home</a>, identified the need to expand programs to allow women and children to remain in the home once a violent perpetrator was removed. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.safeathome.org.au/">Safe at Home</a> programs and initiatives started to emerge in 2009 and offer:</p>
<ul>
<li>financial and tenancy support</li>
<li>risk assessments and safety audits</li>
<li>upgrading security in the home</li>
<li>safety plans</li>
<li>working with the police and local courts to remove the offender</li>
<li>providing court support and advocacy in applying for intervention orders and at family court proceedings, and </li>
<li>providing counselling support. </li>
</ul>
<p>Safe at home programs in Australia are relatively new. But <a href="http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/Fast_Facts_8.pdf">early evaluations</a> show they’ve helped women feel safe in their home. This innovation is hopeful because it offers stability to women and children, and sends a societal message to violent men that their behaviour is unacceptable.</p>
<p>Instead of “why doesn’t she just leave?” these housing reforms are examples of asking more appropriate questions such as “how can we best support women and children and keep them safe?” and “how can we hold men accountable for such violent acts?” </p>
<h2>Ensuring women and children’s safety</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/housing-support/programs-services/homelessness/national-partnership-agreement-on-homelessness">National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness</a> between the Commonwealth and state governments funds a wide range of homelessness prevention and family violence programs, including women’s refuges. </p>
<p>But this funding is not ongoing and must be renegotiated in each state every one to three years. And it already falls short of the demand. </p>
<p>We need an ongoing Commonwealth/state commitment to increase funding for domestic violence specialist homelessness services. This would ensure resource-intensive programs for women and children, as well as supporting longer-term outreach services to help ensure women and children do not return to violent partners. </p>
<p>We need to remember though that a woman’s safety in domestic violence is not just about the perpetrator being removed from the house. Domestic violence requires a well-coordinated, multi-agency response to ensure women and children’s safety. </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>
<p><em>Read the other articles in The Conversation’s Domestic Violence in Australia series <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Wendt receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is affiliated with the Domestic Violence and Aboriginal Family Violence Gateway Service in South Australia. </span></em></p>“Why doesn’t she just leave?” is the common question people ask when trying to understand domestic violence. The answer is far from straightforward. Central to domestic violence is an ongoing pattern of…Sarah Wendt, Program Director, Masters of Social Work; Co-Director, Research Centre for Gender Studies; Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/292822014-08-05T20:37:45Z2014-08-05T20:37:45ZLaws on lethal domestic violence should be reviewed – nationally<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55089/original/ycy96rdb-1406596030.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Debate surrounding the law’s response to lethal domestic violence has led to significant law reform activity over the last 20 years.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dave Hunt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The law’s response to lethal domestic violence in Australia raises complex issues. It requires a delicate balance to be struck between ensuring a just response to those who kill in response to prolonged family violence while simultaneously ensuring that those who kill an intimate partner in unmeritorious circumstances are not minimised, excused or justified by the court system. </p>
<p>But given the divergent law reform activity across Australia in recent years, a national review of legal responses to lethal domestic violence is undoubtedly needed. </p>
<p>A national review would allow each state and territory to learn from the reform experiences of their counterparts. While there are sentencing and legislative differences across jurisdictions, there are benefits in considering the range of reforms and the impacts in practice on the law’s response to lethal domestic violence. </p>
<p>The 2010 <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/family-violence">review</a> into family violence by the Australian Law Reform Commission and New South Wales Law Reform Commission began this process. However, since that review, the number of differing reforms implemented highlights the need for a follow-up review. This should evaluate to what extent the law’s response to domestic violence has improved and where opportunities lie for future reform. </p>
<h2>Divergent reforms</h2>
<p>Debate surrounding the law’s response to lethal domestic violence has led to significant reform activity over the last 20 years. This includes reforms to self-defence laws, the provocation defence, evidence reforms and most recently to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorian-homicide-law-reforms-ensure-just-responses-to-violence-28305">offence of defensive homicide</a> in Victoria. Interestingly, while often motivated by like concerns, these changes have often taken different forms.</p>
<p>For example, in response to concerns surrounding the law of provocation’s legitimisation of male-perpetrated intimate partner homicides, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/victoria-scraps-provocation-murder-defence/2005/10/04/1128191702895.html">Victoria</a>, <a href="http://timeline.awava.org.au/archives/509">Tasmania</a> and Western Australia abolished the partial defence of provocation. </p>
<p>Reviewing the same law, a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry <a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-parliamentary-inquiry-recommends-partial-reform-to-provocation-law-11958">concluded</a> in 2013 that the risk of a murder conviction for women who kill an abuser was too high without a “safety net” option of a provocation defence. Consequently, NSW retained a restricted version of the partial provocation defence. </p>
<p>Marking a third approach to reconsidering the law of provocation, South Australian MPs recently expressed concern about the law’s operation in <a href="http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/local-news/renewed-calls-to-abolish-gay-panic-defence/116910">“gay panic” cases</a>. They are yet to consider how it applies in cases of men who kill a female intimate partner who attempted to leave the relationship or has allegedly been unfaithful. To date, such men continue to have a partial defence of provocation open to them. </p>
<p>The issue of domestic abuse has been all but absent from recent <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/alcoholfuelled-violence-mandatory-sentences-only-serve-to-fill-jails-20140206-324aj.html">political debate</a> on drug and alcohol-fuelled violence, despite alcohol abuse consistently emerging in national <a href="http://aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/1-10/04.html">research</a> as a precursor to domestic violence. </p>
<p>It is important that the conversation on how the law can better respond to alcohol-fuelled violence in and around night-time venues is widened to consider too how it can better respond to perpetrators of alcohol-fuelled violence in homes.</p>
<h2>Pillars of a national review</h2>
<p>Beyond reforming, abolishing and introducing legal categories, a national review of legal responses to domestic violence should be informed by three guiding principles. </p>
<p>First, the law must recognise the seriousness of lethal domestic violence. The community and Australia’s legal system have certainly come far in terms of adequately recognising the harms of domestic violence. </p>
<p>Despite this, it is still important for the law to create clear standards of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Within these standards, the use of violence by an intimate partner to abuse, intimidate, control and diminish the rights of a person must have no place.</p>
<p>Second, the law must provide an avenue through which a person’s experiences of violence can be adequately heard and understood. Domestic violence advocates and scholars have long <a href="http://www.dvrcv.org.au/knowledge-centre/our-publications/discussion-papers/justice-or-judgement">argued</a> that women’s experiences of domestic abuse are often misunderstood by those operating within the courts, jury included. </p>
<p>Refreshingly, recent approaches to reform have sought to address exactly this. The most recent instance was the introduction of reforms <a href="http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubPDocs.nsf/ee665e366dcb6cb0ca256da400837f6b/67ad9d52d5130f10ca257d02000b8171!OpenDocument">in Victoria</a> to increase juror understanding of the dynamics of family violence. The impact of these reforms requires monitoring. If effective, they should be introduced in other Australian jurisdictions. </p>
<p>Finally, the law must be reflective. As recent attempts to reform legal responses to lethal domestic violence reveal, solutions are not always forthcoming. Identified problems are rarely solved at first try. </p>
<p>Reflection is particularly important in the current political climate as governments are increasingly introducing reforms without consultation. Funding to domestic violence agencies has <a href="http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/hundreds-rally-against-domestic-violence-funding-cuts-in-adelaide/story-fni6uo1m-1226997852661?nk=706d0a01c02e47ebb35ba9eee46138f4">been cut</a>. Legal aid funding cuts <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-27/family-court-chief-concerned-about-budget-cuts-to-legal-aid/5479044">could also have</a> dire impacts in family violence cases.</p>
<p>In this climate, we must not lose sight of an important goal – a criminal justice system that provides a just response to lethal domestic violence. After all, this is the category of homicide in Australia that singularly poses the biggest threat to women in the community.</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>
<p><em>Read the other articles in The Conversation’s Domestic Violence in Australia series <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29282/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>The law’s response to lethal domestic violence in Australia raises complex issues. It requires a delicate balance to be struck between ensuring a just response to those who kill in response to prolonged…Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Lecturer in Criminology, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/295322014-08-04T20:42:12Z2014-08-04T20:42:12ZBehind media silence on domestic violence are blokey newsrooms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54762/original/ygcwy3qf-1406180814.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Until recently, violence against women was not reported prominently or consistently by mainstream media. Why not?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Malkoff</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Did the <a href="https://theconversation.com/intimate-partner-homicide-the-media-and-the-baden-clay-case-28103">grim story</a> of dapper real estate agent Gerard Baden-Clay’s <a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/badenclay-mistress-toni-mchugh-gets-no-twitter-sympathy-but-pulls-in-ratings-for-60-minutes/story-e6frfmyi-1226995967654">calculated murder</a> of his wife Allison in April 2012, played out recently in a Brisbane court with a life sentence, make you feel afraid? Did it make you feel as if the norm of men caring for their partners and children has flipped to a darker side, where filicide and homicide are creeping into what was once the centre of safety?</p>
<p>You would, in truth, be justified in your fears. We know the <a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-a-snapshot-of-domestic-violence-in-australia-30017">statistics</a> now; they are no longer a closely guarded secret, ignored as “domestics” by the police and the media. Intimate partner violence is the <a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/Programs-and-Projects/Freedom-from-violence/Intimate-Partner-Violence.aspx">leading cause</a> of preventable death, illness and disability in Victorian women aged 15-44 – more than smoking or obesity or illicit drugs or alcohol.</p>
<p>Violence against women is a largely hidden problem, yet manifests in and forms part of the backdrop to most other more visible health issues. The <a href="http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/documents/Bridging_the_data_gap.pdf">cost</a> of violence against women to the Australian economy, including direct and indirect physical and mental health services, is estimated to rise to A$15.6 billion a year by 2021.</p>
<p>It is, one would think, the biggest crime story in Australia and one of our biggest social and economic stories. Yet until recently, mainstream media did not consistently or prominently report violence against women. Why not?</p>
<h2>Entrenched social attitudes</h2>
<p>Until recently, the media weren’t interested in reporting domestic violence. Journalists didn’t see “domestics” as a story. The reason for this seems to be that the media hold the same negative attitudes to women that have been globally recognised as contributing to violence against them in the first place.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54760/original/487gmkxh-1406178905.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54760/original/487gmkxh-1406178905.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54760/original/487gmkxh-1406178905.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54760/original/487gmkxh-1406178905.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54760/original/487gmkxh-1406178905.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54760/original/487gmkxh-1406178905.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54760/original/487gmkxh-1406178905.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Victoria Police under Ken Lay has prioritised changing attitudes towards women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Julian Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is of concern, since media play a key role in forming societal attitudes to gender and gender roles.</p>
<p>The attitudes identified as harmful to women – shared by some newsrooms and some of the Australian populace – are what we would call “blokey” and sexist. <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/men-have-to-stand-up-and-change-their-thinking/story-fni0ffsx-1226741950826">According</a> to Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The figures stem from some pretty sick attitudes towards women, attitudes of sexual entitlement and possessiveness, attitudes of supposed female inferiority. Many of those attitudes are reinforced in the workplace – subtly or overtly – and they influence vulgar or criminal behaviour.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lay’s comments are backed by <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/453492294.html">international</a> and <a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/%7E/media/ProgramsandProjects/DiscriminationandViolence/ViolenceAgainstWomen/CAS_TwoSteps_FINAL.ashx">Australian</a> research. The findings show that men perpetrate violence against women because they hold negative attitudes towards them, believe in traditional masculinity and male privilege, believe in rigid gender roles, operate in a society of masculine dominance, and have weak support for gender equality.</p>
<p>Overall, a lack of balance of power between men and women underlies men’s violence against women. According to the <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/">World Health Organisation</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the unequal position of women relative to men and the normative use of violence to resolve conflict are strongly associated with … intimate partner violence.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A male-dominated media</h2>
<p>Australian media have a balance of power tipped overwhelmingly towards men, according to the most recent <a href="https://www.newmatilda.com/2013/03/08/where-are-women-media">study</a> of who owns, runs, influences, reports, presents and creates the news. Only one mainstream Australian media organisation of 15 identified by the study as “big”, Bauer Media, had a female chairperson. Nine Entertainment, provincial publisher APN and Seven West Media now have just one female board member apiece.</p>
<p>No woman edited a weekday daily or national metro publication at the time of the study (March 2013). Across 418 newspapers Australia-wide, 61% of editors were male. Across nine metropolitan and regional newspapers on a given day, March 4, 2013, <a href="https://www.newmatilda.com/2013/06/11/men-dominate-news-bylines">461 of 591</a> of all bylined stories had a male byline.</p>
<p>These results are in line with global research across all “legacy” media. A <a href="http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/789/women-in-tv-broadcast-news-reporters-and-sources-in-hard-news-stories">recent analysis</a> of American newscasts revealed that male reporters were assigned more hard news than female reporters, who were more likely to be assigned soft news. Both male and female reporters used more male sources as experts in hard news. The study’s author, Mariah Irvin, concludes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The implications of the results of this study include female under-representation as reporters and sources, probably continuing a perception of women as being in a lower social status than men. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://uahost.uantwerpen.be/m2p/publications/1256972196.pdf">European studies</a> have also found female news sources to be strongly stereotyped and limited to traditional “female” topics.</p>
<p>At the same time, ethnographic accounts of the newsroom in Australia and surveys of female journalists have suggested that newsrooms are sexist workplaces. Australian female journalists experience <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2122017">twice the rate</a> of sexual harassment by a male colleague or senior male manager compared with other workplaces. These gender issues appear to be reflected in news values and decisions, and are stubbornly resistant to change.</p>
<h2>Hope for change?</h2>
<p>The way in which intimate partner violence has been covered by Australian media is, in its paucity, lack of context and superficiality, a strong example of these newsroom gender issues. A Victorian <a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/Publications/Freedom-from-violence/Victorian-print-media-coverage-of-violence-against-women.aspx?p=1">study</a> in 2012 found that incidents of violence against women are reported as if they are random acts from people “with problems” (not as part of a broader, gender-power problem affecting us all). There was an unrepresentative focus on “stranger danger”.</p>
<p>The study also found that reportage of intimate partner violence was largely absent; that intimate partner rape was 40 times less likely to be reported in the media than rape by a stranger; and that the experts quoted in news reports were police and courts, not workers in the field of family violence.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54759/original/sq4q62b6-1406178678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54759/original/sq4q62b6-1406178678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54759/original/sq4q62b6-1406178678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54759/original/sq4q62b6-1406178678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54759/original/sq4q62b6-1406178678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=864&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54759/original/sq4q62b6-1406178678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1085&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54759/original/sq4q62b6-1406178678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1085&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54759/original/sq4q62b6-1406178678.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1085&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jill Meagher’s murder may mark a turning point in mainstream media coverage of violence against women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Herald Sun</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Two interesting developments in the media in Australia may allow more balanced, ethical and accurate reporting of men’s violence against women. One is new media, which, with their horizontal power base and heterogeneity of decision-makers and reporters, allow (in theory) a bypass of the male gender power base of legacy media.</p>
<p>The rape and murder of 29-year-old <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/timeline-of-jill-meaghers-disappearance/story-e6frfkp9-1226483534777">Jill Meagher</a> in Melbourne in September 2012 signalled the second development: a turning point in mainstream media coverage of violence against women. Since then, Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper has taken a conscious leadership role in reporting on and campaigning on violence against women.</p>
<p>The Centre for Advancing Journalism is working with the Herald Sun to research how these changes in news priorities occurred. Cursory reporting of violence against women has evolved to the <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/family-violence-must-end/story-fni0ffsx-1226682797077">“Take a Stand”</a> campaign and associated in-depth, consistent and contextual reporting.</p>
<p>Perhaps what is learnt from this research into changes in newsroom practice in the face of entrenched gender power norms across the industry will introduce balance, accuracy, context and respect in reporting the gravity of Australia’s most frightening crime story.</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>
<p><em>Read the other articles in The Conversation’s Domestic Violence in Australia series <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: On December 8, 2015, Gerard Baden-Clay’s murder conviction was set aside and substituted for manslaughter.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29532/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>Did the grim story of dapper real estate agent Gerard Baden-Clay’s calculated murder of his wife Allison in April 2012, played out recently in a Brisbane court with a life sentence, make you feel afraid…Gael Jennings, Honorary Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneMargaret Simons, Director, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/300172014-08-03T20:05:30Z2014-08-03T20:05:30ZInfographic: A snapshot of domestic violence in Australia<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55563/original/bgfkgrpx-1407060118.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55563/original/bgfkgrpx-1407060118.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=5020&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55563/original/bgfkgrpx-1407060118.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=5020&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55563/original/bgfkgrpx-1407060118.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=5020&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55563/original/bgfkgrpx-1407060118.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=6309&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55563/original/bgfkgrpx-1407060118.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=6309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/55563/original/bgfkgrpx-1407060118.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=6309&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy 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>Fron Jackson-Webb, Deputy Editor and Senior Health EditorMichael Courts, Deputy Section Editor: Politics + SocietyEmil Jeyaratnam, Data + Interactives Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/292802014-08-03T20:05:28Z2014-08-03T20:05:28ZOut of the shadows: the rise of domestic violence in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54844/original/3cn5j5zs-1406252955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gerard Baden-Clay’s murder of his wife Allison has helped put the spectre of domestic violence firmly back in the national spotlight. How prevalent is it?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Once a hidden crime, domestic violence has in recent years emerged as a mainstream criminal justice issue in Australia. Cases such as Queensland man Gerard Baden-Clay’s <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/special-features/a-cheating-husband-and-his-depressed-wife-and-how-murder-stalked-the-leafy-streets-of-brookfield/story-fnl1b568-1226965982263">murder</a> of his wife Allison and the death of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-13/mother-in-shock-after-son-killed-by-father-at-cricket-oval/5258252">Luke Batty</a> in Victoria at the hands of his father have attracted unprecedented media attention and put the spectre of domestic violence firmly back in the spotlight.</p>
<p>But how prevalent is domestic violence and what is the cost to Australian society?</p>
<h2>The evolution of ‘domestic violence’</h2>
<p>Since its recognition in Australia in the 1980s, the concept of domestic violence and its associated harms has evolved into a complex criminal justice issue. From its basic origin of being physical violence between married couples, the definition of relationships covered is now wide and varied. </p>
<p>In Queensland, for example, domestic violence legislation covers <a href="http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/communityservices/violence-prevention/domestic-and-family-violence-protection-act-2012">intimate personal relationships</a>. This includes couples of the opposite or same gender, people who are engaged, in a de facto relationship, are married, and any who were in the type of relationships noted above.</p>
<p>Domestic violence also extends to family relationships between two people and also informal care relationships, characterised by one person being dependent on another for help with essential daily tasks.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/uploads/media/updated_factsheets_Nov_13/Factsheet_6_Family_and_domestic_violence.pdf">types of harm</a> identified as being caused by domestic violence have also developed into more mature impacts. Physical violence, sexual, social, verbal and spiritual abuse, in addition to psychological and economic harms, are now recognised. </p>
<p>In the aftermath of the Baden-Clay case, much has been made in the media of the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/allison-badenclay-penned-a-furious-letter-to-husband-gerard-after-discovering-his-affair-with-coworker-toni-mchugh/story-fnihsrf2-1226995801516">non-violent abuse</a> that Gerard inflicted on his wife Allison. The traditional view that physical violence must be present in cases of domestic violence is clearly inaccurate. Harms can be inflicted by much more subtle, non-violent, coercive behaviour.</p>
<h2>Prevalence of domestic violence in Australia</h2>
<p>In <a href="http://crimetool.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/bocsar/">New South Wales</a>, the domestic assault rate has increased 1.5% over the last five years, with 28,291 cases reported in 2013.</p>
<p><a href="http://uat.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/sites/sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/files/media_release_25_september_2013_family_violence.pdf">Victoria</a> recorded a 72.8% increase in reporting to police of family violence incidents between 2004-05 and 2011-12. For the same period, the number of intervention orders increased by 82.2%.</p>
<p>A 2004 federal government <a href="http://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2012/cost_of_dv_to_australian_economy_i_1.pdf">study</a> estimated victims of domestic violence numbered some 408,100 in Australia, of which 87% were women. It also highlighted the numbers of children exposed to domestic violence: 181,200 had witnessed domestic violence in 2002–03. </p>
<p>In Victoria, children form the single largest category of protected persons in domestic violence matters. There has been a 295.4% increase in children being named in matters between 2004-05 and 2011-12.</p>
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<span class="caption">In Victoria, children are the single largest category of protected persons in domestic violence matters.</span>
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<p>In recognition of this growing class of victims, <a href="http://www.police.qld.gov.au/Resources/Internet/services/OperationalPolicies/documents/Chapter7.pdf">Queensland</a>, for one, has made it mandatory for police attending a domestic violence incident to submit a report outlining emotional abuse of the child for follow-up by an experienced child protection investigator.</p>
<p>The 2012 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety Australia <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4906.0Chapter7002012">survey</a> found that one in six women in Australia (or 16.9%) suffered some form of physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner since the age of 15. About one in four women had experienced some form of emotional abuse in the same circumstances. </p>
<p>While it is recognised that men <a href="http://anrows.org.au/sites/default/files/Violence-Against-Australian-Women-Key-Statistics.pdf">also suffer from domestic violence</a>, it is far less prevalent, as indicated by a variety of statistics.</p>
<p>There are other costs in addition to the physical and psychological harm inflicted on the victims and witnesses. A <a href="http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/uploads/media/Conference_2013/The_cost_of_violence_in_Australia_Liz_Forsyth_KPMG.pdf">report</a> estimated the economic cost of domestic violence in Australia in 2013 to be US$14.7 billion. This equates to roughly 1.1% of Australia’s GDP.</p>
<h2>Risk factors</h2>
<p>While there is no <a href="http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Domestic_violence_why_men_abuse_women">stereotypical perpetrator</a> of domestic violence, some common risk factors include perpetrators who use violence and emotional abuse to control their families.</p>
<p>Perpetrators believe they have the right to behave in whatever way they choose in their own home. The perpetrator believes they have an entitlement to sex and try to minimise, blame others or justify their violence through claims of provocation. The perpetrator may lose control with family members and resort to violence but won’t do so in other social or work settings.</p>
<p>One ACT <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tbp/tbp052/tbp052.pdf">study</a> showed that 83% of perpetrators of domestic violence were males; 70% of the offenders were aged between 20 and 44.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/">World Health Organisation</a> states that risk factors for the perpetrator include low education, exposure to child maltreatment or witnessing violence in the family, harmful use of alcohol, attitudes accepting of violence, and gender inequality. </p>
<h2>Future challenges</h2>
<p>Under-reporting of domestic violence remains high and often sits above 50%. One recent New South Wales <a href="http://www.women.nsw.gov.au/women_in_nsw/current_report/safety_and_access_to_justice/focus_topic_under-reporting_of_domestic_violence_assaults">study</a> found that only half of the victims interviewed had reported the matter.</p>
<p>There is still room for improvement to the (commendable) legal and social service responses to the challenges of domestic violence in Australia. </p>
<p>The ABS <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4529.0.00.001Main%20Features12013?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4529.0.00.001&issue=2013&num=&view=">identified</a> six areas that can be used as an evidence base to improve service delivery. These are the context of the incident, the risks involved, how victims experience violence, responses, impacts, and research and evaluation. </p>
<p>These important pieces of information will provide valuable insight and allow further development of policies to <a href="http://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-to-reduce-violence-against-women-and-their-children-2010-2022">reduce violence against women and children</a>. </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>
<p><em>Read the other articles in The Conversation’s Domestic Violence in Australia series <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: On December 8, 2015, Gerard Baden-Clay’s murder conviction was set aside and substituted for manslaughter.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29280/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>Once a hidden crime, domestic violence has in recent years emerged as a mainstream criminal justice issue in Australia. Cases such as Queensland man Gerard Baden-Clay’s murder of his wife Allison and the…Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityMatthew Raj, PhD Student and Teaching Fellow, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.