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Crim 3000 Project Title Raising the awareness of domestic violence and providing a voice for the victims of domestic violence in households.

Literature Review Domestic violence is major public and social health problem that occurs all around the world. It can be described as misuse of power by another adult in relationship to establish control over another and create fear (Kaur & Garg, 2008). Domestic violence can be classified as any form of physical assault, social abuse, sexual assault, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours by intimate partners (Matud, 2007). In addition, domestic violence generally has a long-term impact on the physical health and emotional adjustment of many relationships (Astbury, 2000). Women are often at the highest risk of sexual, physical and psychological violence from their intimate other in a relationship. Though, children are also often the victim of experiencing violence from family members or witnesses of violence’s within a household (Astubury, 2000). Men can also be the subject of domestic violence in relationships, though there is a negative stigma that surrounds men to open up about their abuse. Thus, it is instrumental to create a culture where individuals are able to speak out about their abuse to detect domestic violence immediately to initiate the appropriate assistance. The concept of domestic violence is a sensitive issue that Australians would often not think or talk about. Though, there is extensive economic and social costs to the community as a result of domestic violence. When domestic violence occurs in a household, it is common for victims to have feelings of self-blame and ashamed which results in a sense of decreased self-esteem for the victim (Astubury, 2000). As a result, victims are unable to voice their feelings to other close social connections as they are in fear of being judged by their families. Many women and men are forced into keeping their domestic violence issues to themselves as they want to have a façade of a perfect family to their friends are family that there are no internal issues. Thus, the victims use psychological defenses to cope with the violence such as the denial of its existence and minimization of the severity of the violence (Astubury, 2000). Victims are also unable to speak out about their violence, as the perpetrators are manipulative in the relationship. In times of tranquility in the relationship, the perpetrator would often have acts of kindness to maintain the relationship, giving false hope to the victim that the violence will end.

Furthermore, domestic violence has many health implications such as physical injury. However, domestic violence effects goes beyond physical injury as it also undermines the psychological, economic, social and emotional well being of the victim (Kaur & Garg, 2008). Domestic violence is the biggest health risk to women in Australia aged 15-44 years, as in 2006-2007 one in five of the homicides were killed by the other intimate partner with more than half being women (Morgan & Chadwick, 2009). In addition, domestic violence has a significant effect on the general health and well-being on victims causing them to suffer depression, anxiety, physical injury, substance abuse and impairing of social skills. Additionally, domestic violence is a detrimental factor in contributing to homeless of victims and their children as they are forced to flee from their homes to escape the violence (Morgan & Chadwick, 2009. Statistics show that in 2002-2003 in Australia, the costs of domestic violence to victims, perpetrators, families, friends, communities, private sector and the government equated up to $8b (Morgan & Chadwick, 2009). These costs include pain, suffering and premature mortality, provision of health services, impact on employment and productivity, replacing damaged property, response to the criminal justice system victim compensation and financial support from social services. (Morgan & Chadwick, 2009). In addition, there is a need to have an effective response to domestic violence to address the immediate needs of women whom are experiencing abuse. This includes support such as providing long-term assistance and a focus on cultural needs (Kaur & Garg, 2008). Through addressing domestic violence in a sensitive way, changes can be made to promote that domestic violence is not tolerated in Australia. Furthermore, the health sector can play an instrumental role in preventing violence against women by identifying signs of abuse early to provide victims with the necessary treatment and appropriate care. Though, not many doctors and nurses are trained to be aware of the underlying violence that is affecting the victim’s health. It is vital that health services are places where victims are able to feel safe and open out about their problems (Kaur & Garg, 2008). Victims of domestic violence are generally in a vulnerable state and need to be treated with respect by health services where they are not negatively stigmatized. Furthermore, children are heavily impacted by domestic violence through witnessing the events which leads to developmental, emotional, behavioural and academic problems. Ultimately, it is evident that domestic violence is a major health concern that transcends across Australia. The consequences of domestic violence can result in extensive emotional, social and economic costs to victims and their families (Morgan & Chadwick, 2009). There are many victims, especially women whom are vulnerable to domestic violence but are forced to stay in the relationship due to scared of being judged by family members and friends, values and culture and the fear of being separated from their partners.

Project aims/objectives The aims of this project are to raise awareness of domestic violence in families and households. This project also aims to provide support and a voice for victims to speak out about their abuse in order to immediately provide them with the appropriate assistance. In addition, this the overall objective of this aims to reduce domestic violence and greatly improve the safety of all victims in domestic violence situations. Project partner organisation The partner organisation that was selected for this project is the Australian Institute of Criminology. The aims of the Australian Instituted of Criminology as an organisation is to promote justice and reduce crime through communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice. The Australian Institute of Criminology deals with many crime-related problems but in particular the issue of domestic violence. Through the research and data collected, the AIC plays an instrumental role in addressing the domestic violence and the criminal justices’ responses to this issue. In addition, the AIC works closely with stakeholders internationally and nationally to create a research knowledge base regarding domestic violence that is both quantitative and qualitative in nature. The AIC cooperates with stakeholders such as the Australian Government, United Nations Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice Programme Network of Institutes and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

How the project addresses a particular area of interest/ research priority The main issue of domestic violence is that victims are not reporting to police or social circle that they are being abused until it is too late. There are many men and women who are in abusive relationships and families whom do not report these crimes to the police. Hence this project identifies this gap and is intended to eliminate this issue and allow individuals to open up about their abusive households. Thus, through raising awareness of domestic violence, victims will be more likely to speak out as the negative stigma of domestic violence will be eliminated. This project will address the strategies that have been employed by the AIC that have aimed to deterred domestic violence. In addition, this project will address a research priority of the AIC which is to extinguish the burden of preventing violence from victims in all households. Furthermore, the project will ensure that actions will be taken to deter offenders from committing the crimes. Another gap that will be identified in this project is the involvement with police, community members and policy makers to intervene the issues of domestic violence early.

Research design and methodology The proposed project will be using an innovative research design of diary studies by collecting data of the victims of domestic violence whom report or do not report their abuse to the police. The victims will be ensured that all the information that will be used for the project will be confidential and protected for their safety. This project design will also have support programs to assist victims overcome their barriers and psychological abuse that may have occurred when they have been assaulted. In addition, the project will be collaborating with the Australian Institute of Criminology to create advertisements all around Sydney to increase the exposure that domestic violence is not tolerated and to allow victims to speak about their internal family issues. In addition, these methods will meet the main outcome of this research project as it allows victims to be more open about abuse in their relationship and have a greater impact on the lives of the victims. This includes improving the standard of living for victims such as being without fear or anxiety within a household where the victim would be likely to abused. Furthermore, this the research designs are able to meet the main objective of this project as it will provide victims with the immediate assistance to deal with the problems. The research design of diary studies is a common method used in organisations for psychology which is a cross-sectional design which is based on self-report questionnaires. Through using the diary studies method, it allows researchers to gather data from people natural life contexts such as their homes in this situation (Ohly, Sonnentag, Niessen & Zapf, 2010). The strengths of using diary studies include recording the experiences in a natural environment, a higher chance to capture influential external factors, collect observations in longer durations and a more in-depth consideration and opportunities for creativity (Ohly, Sonnentag, Niessen & Zapf, 2010). The limitations of this research design are that researchers are unable to observe the participants, the participants may also not be fully accurate, and the selection process can be lengthy.

Expected outcomes/outputs of the project The expected outcome of this project is to increase the number of victims of domestic violence to come out so that we are able to assist them with their issues and provide them the appropriate support and financial services for them. In addition, this project is looking to reduce the amount of domestic violence reported across Sydney and Australia by exposing that domestic violence is not tolerated by their partners and they will be punished for their actions. As more victims begin to open up about their abuse, it will likely influence other victims to not be afraid to also have a voice about their opinions which is they main outcome that is desired in this project.

Budgetary and personnel considerations The budget will include costs such as costs of research, recruitment costs, administration and media costs. The research team will consist of 5 employees whom will conduct the research over the 6-month period. They will be on a 6-month contract to conduct the diary studies on the victims of the domestic violence whom are agreed to take part of the research. They will be paid $4000 per month on the 6-month contract. The project will have 2 members whom will be working with the Australian Institute of Criminology to development advertisements to promote the awareness of domestic violence whom will be on a 3-month contract being paid $4000 per month as well. An administration room will be rented for the 6-month period of the project oh $2800 per month which equates to $16,800.

Project Schedule The project is scheduled to start on the 1st December 2019 and to be completed by the 1st of May 2020. The research of diary studies is estimated to be completed by the 2nd of March 2020. From the 3rd of March 2020 until 1st of May the project will be working with the victims of the domestic violence to provide them with the support and aid to overcome their health issues. The advertisement is scheduled to be completed within 3 months, so the 2nd February is one of the main priorities as well.

References Astbury, J. (2000) ‘The impact of domestic violence on individuals’, The Medical Journal of Australia 173(8): 427-431. Kaur, R. and Suneela, G. (2008) ‘Addressing Domestic Violence Against Women: An Unfinished Agenda’ Indian Journal of Community Medicine 33(2): 73-76. Matud, M. (2007) ‘Dating Violence and Domestic Violence’, Journal of Adolescent Health 40(4): 295297. Morgan, A. and Chadwick, H. (2009) ‘Key issues in domestic violence’ Research in practice no.7. Canberra, Australian Institute of Criminology. Mugford, J. (1989) ‘Domestic Violence’ Violence today no.2 Canberra, Australian Institute of Criminology. Ohly, S., Sonnentag, S., Niessen, C. and Zapf, D. (2010) ‘Diary Studies in Organizational Research: An Introduction and Some Practical Recommendations’ Journal of Personnel Psychology 9(2): 79-93....