Domestic Violence Essay Plan PDF

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Assess/Evaluate the effectiveness of legal and non-legal responses to domestic violence Introduction • •

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The law has been effective to an extent in protecting victims of Australia’s ‘Silent Epidemic’ domestic violence Whilst the government with their legal and non-legal mechanism has started to focus on protecting victims, the increased reporting and media attention has highlighted the inadequacies of the law, especially since: Australian police deal with around 657 domestic violence cases every day which means there is one report of domestic violence cases every two minutes. More importantly, on average two women died at the hands of their partners every week. Thus, whilst there has been some great governmental reform, it has only been effective to an extent

Thesis: Effective to an extent

ADVO’s An ADVO is a court order given within a domestic relationship with the perpetrator, designed to protect someone from the violence and abuse or threats of violence and abuse from the perpetrator, including harassment, intimidation, stalking, damage of property, fearful, physically hurt, etc Ø For many, these apprehended violence orders stop the violence •

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Information - Present an incredibly important tool in reducing and preventing domestic violence NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research study has shown that 98% of women who experienced physical violence, no longer did after taking out an ADVO

Ø Greater accessibility + Consistencies to protect victims: o Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Amendment (Review) Act 2016 - No longer need to prove to a court they fear their perpetrator or appear before magistrates when applications are finalised - Videotaped statements, on the spot ADVO’s with the police o Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Amendment (National Domestic Violence Orders Recognition) Act 2016 - Allows the state’s police to enforce an ADVO even if it was issued outside of NSW - Greater consistency and provides increased protection across jurisdictional border by enabling automatic recognition and enforcement of ADVO’s made in other jurisdictions Ø However, its effectiveness lies in its lack of enforceability and breaches: Information o Breaches have long been seen as one of the weakest links in the effectiveness of a protection order since, when a breach is not acted on appropriately, it undermines its effectiveness o Often needs to be proved or witnessed by a police officer, however it is hard to prove something like stalking

Statistic o In the year to last September courts issued 26,491 domestic ADVO’s. According to the NSW Bureau of Crimes Statistics and Research figures, 44% of all ADVO’s were breached (Daily Telegraph, January 2015) Case of Sharon Michelutti -

Illustrates the inadequacies of ADVO’s in protecting victims of domestic violence against perpetrators Years of ADVO’s dating back to the 1990s, including one taken out two weeks before her death, had failed to protect her when her partner, Gavin Debeyer stabbed her in the chest at their home in Sydney’s south-west Opinions: -

Mrs Whitehouse, “Police are restricted in being able to charge for breaches because they need evidence. It is really hard to prove things like stalking” Rosie Batty: “But it only really works when somebody is going to follow it. For a recidivist or someone that’s going to reoffend it only is a piece of paper”

Penalties are a Slap on the wrist: -

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NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research figures show the most common penalty for breaching an ADVO is a bond with no supervision conditions, which occurs in 22.4% of cases while 17.8% of breaches were punished by a fine, where $432 is the average penalty (Daily Telegraph, January 2015) Constitute to their lack of enforceability Often Perpetrators don’t understand the terms

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A readability test shows the current ADVO would need someone with 13.5 years of education to understand it Lack of comprehension by perpetrators constitutes to their ineffectiveness Under reforms, the ADVO’s will be written in plain English, so perpetrators can understand the terms under their provision order (SMH, November 2016)

Male Victims Disregard of male victims of domestic violence with a lack of governmental funding, services or laws to protect them • Stigma associated that men aren’t victims, but only perpetrators Ø Under-reporting because of the stigma associated with male victims: - ABS Personal Safety Study in 2012 found that 95% of men who had experience violence from a current partner never contacted the police. - An A Current Affair Investigation in August 2015 reported men are three times more likely than women to keep domestic violence a secret (9NEWS, September 2015) - Research at Edith Cowan University, commissioned by the Men’s Advisory Network, found men are reluctant to report domestic violence because they are either in denial of what is happening or they fear they will either not be believed or will be blamed for the abuse (9NEWS, September 2015) Ø Prevalence of male victims •

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In the latest report by the NSW Coroners Court Domestic Violence Review Team: (The Daily Telegraph, August 2016) § 41% of all domestic homicides were male victims § 22% of victims were men in intimate partner homicides § Other domestic homicides against adults, which included family members other than partners, 87% of victims were men § Domestic violent homicides against children: 57% of victims were boys Black Ribbon Foundation: As of August 10 2016, 42 women have been killed and 82 men According to in-depth analysis of the ABS’ Personal Safety Survey (PSS) by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, approximately one in 12 men (694,100) reported experiencing at least one incident of violence by a female partner since the age of 15. This includes a cohabiting partner, girlfriend or female date (NEWS.COM, June 2016)

Ø Cases where male victims have been disregarded. Ineffectiveness of society in protecting these victims: - According to the article, “The Violent Truth- Men are also abuse victims” (Daily Telegraph, August 2016), male victims have recently been pleading guilty for abuse claims they didn’t commit due to presumption that all males are perpetrators of domestic violence due to the gendered approach from the court system à shows how the legal system is failing male victims - Police have been known to tell victims to "grow some balls" whilst crisis lines for domestic assault callers have little training in how to counsel men (SMH, September 2016) Ø Measures taking place:

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o Inadequacies: Federal government launched a $100 million women’s safety package to help combat domestic violence against women and children. Two million of that package was allocated for men but not for victims. Instead it was used to increase funding for MenLine for tools and resources to support perpetrators not to offend (SMH, May 2015) o New Measures: As a result of increased media attention, greater lobbying of the government by nongovernment organisation such as One in Three and the Change.Org Petition ‘Australian Government: Stop the Demonisation of Men”, the NSW Government has introduced $13 million over 4 years to help male victims of domestic violence, with support services, etc Newly established organisation in August 2016 called Black Ribbon: § Aims to help male victims of domestic violence who are often bloodied and ignored § Counter community jeers and disbelief at men who claim to have been attacked by their wives and partners, including police and paramedics § “Domestic violence in Australia has been sold to us by mainstream media as something that only affects women and is only perpetrated by men” § Aiming to provide a constantly monitored helpline service for male victims, due to the scarcity of services available to male victims in Australia

Aboriginal Victims • •

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Indigenous Academic, Marcia Langton, described it as a “national crisis” Causes of domestic violence amongst Aboriginals communities due to oppression, European dispossession, childhood experience of violence and abuse, abusive styles of conflict resolution, intergenerational trauma, violent family environment, drug and alcohol abuse Long history of domestic violence in the community within families, which has continued to play a high prevalence o Tacking Violence Campaign: A community education, early intervention and prevention programme that uses strong local leadership, regional rugby league clubs and NRL stars to promote anti-domestic violence messages in regional communities o Aims to target young Aboriginal players to gain the knowledge and understanding of domestic violence issues early on to tackle the generational domestic violence in Aboriginal families It’s more than the law that needs to be change. It’s the community’s attitudes towards stopping the prevalence of domestic violence in society (e.g. early intervention) Statistics - According to Creative Spirits: § An Aboriginal woman is 45 times more likely to experience domestic violence than a white woman § 2.6 average number of women per day seeking treatment for domestic violence related injuries in Alice Springs - Indigenous women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of domestic violence than their non-Indigenous counterparts. (ABC News, May 2015) Developments Sisters Day Out (ABC News, October 2015) à Importance of early intervention o Workshops encourage Aboriginal women to report family violence and support them through the process o Workshops create a space for women to speak about violence and break down the associated stigma Funding Cuts of Aboriginal services in the recent 2016-17 Federal Government Budget such as the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Legal Centre has meant Aboriginal victims of domestic violence cannot obtain the help they need in key services, limiting its effectiveness in addressing the issue More funding for public housing and crisis accommodation with women’s shelters are needed since children are often taken away from their mother’s as a result, reminiscent of the Stolen Generations, which have had a huge impact on their wellbeing and identity as a community Ø 2015 National Indigenous Say No to Domestic Violence Conference - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) representatives described a "broken" system and said some female victims of domestic violence feared the system more than their abusers. - "The responses that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women get for when they finally do get up the courage to report that violence are really poor from police and from mainstream services," Antoinette Braybrook, chief executive of the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention Legal Service, said.

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Ms Braybrook said the absence of specialist ATSI legal representation on the COAG Advisory Panel on Reducing Violence against Women and their Children was a "missed opportunity" and another form of silencing women victims nationally. She said she welcomed former prime minister Tony Abbott's $100 million Women's Safety Package announced in September, but she there was still no investment in specialist Aboriginal legal services nationally, bringing another barrier for Indigenous women accessing services.

Ø Inadequacies of the Government’s “Pilot Programs” and “Band-Aid solutions” (The Conversation, June 2016) - Pilot programs and short-term contracts are inadequate when developing and implementing programs that are responsive to local needs. They fail to provide the time needed to foster the trust of community members. When pilots conclude, often after only six months, the community is left in worse condition. - Need to tackle the factors contributing to violent behavior through the availability of men’s behavior change programs. However, there has been criticism that they are still not enough programs available and they don’t sufficiently cater to the nature of the factors contributing to Indigenous men’s offending - As of September 2015, $46 million in government funding has been directed towards specific measures to help Indigenous women and communities, aiming to reduce re-offending by Indigenous perpetrators by increasing police responses - An additional commitment of $25 million has also been allocated to individual programs identified in consultation with The Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council such as training an Indigenous workforce to deliver family violence support services within their communities and trialing perpetrator intervention model that use a law-and-order system to change behaviors - Generalised programs “do not always understand the nature of kinship and family relationships, and the importance of these networks for Indigenous women seeking help for family violence issues”. à Need community specific programs which place the ownership on the Aboriginals to overcome intergenerational violence

Making it easier for victims to report and leave domestic violence situations •

Great prevalence of under-reporting in society, and it is usually the time when the victim wants to leave which is the most dangerous part since it often results in death or serious injury Ø Statistics - 29227 domestic violence related assaults in NSW between April 2015-March 2016 (2.4% increase since April 2011/March 2012) (BOCSAR Statistic) - According to NSW Parliamentary 2015 Briefing Paper on Domestic Violence, as few as 14% of victims reports incidents to the police Ø Proposed Reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) à (SMH, July 2016) - Current tenancy laws are failing domestic violence victims since those abandoning a fixed lease must provide 14 days’ notice to their landlord with potential liabilities, in

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addition to a final AVO which can take up to 12 months to obtain. Leaves victims at risk of incurring significant debt and blacklisted status, making it difficult for them to rent again Innovation and Better Regulation Minister Victor Dominello believes “This is an unacceptable and often burdensome process for people living in dangerous situations” Reforms will mean victims of domestic violence in NSW will soon be able to flee their homes faster with no penalties attacked for abandoning a rental property Laws, to be introduced in the first half of 2017, will allow tenants to terminate their tenancy immediately by producing evidence of a domestic violence through a provisional, interim or financial AVO, or court order Remove the liability of a tenant for the damage caused by others on the premise. Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault, Pru Goward said, “Leaving a violent relationship can be the most challenging decisions anyone makes, and we are getting rid of the red tape and streamlining the system to support domestic violence victims to leave”. These tenancy law reforms will bring a greater accessibility for women to leave their abusive relationships and will protect victims of domestic violence more effectively.

Ø Developments o Women’s Safety Package to Stop the Violence (2015) à (SMH, September 2015) - Package aims to ensure women and children in Australia feel safe and live without fear of violence, with funding to trial GPS tracking, CCTV cameras at homes, etc - But it has been criticised by community and advocacy groups such as Homelessness Australia for not providing enough funding to crisis accommodation and community legal centres, which are vital to helping women escape violence o -

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Domestic Violence Refuges such as the Central Coast Refuges (Daily Telegraph November 2015) Many domestic violence refuges have been very effective in providing victims fleeing violence a safe place to go However, lack of funding and little availability have meant that victims fleeing violence are experiencing a lack of accessibility, putting victims in danger Most specifically, the Central Coast Refuge has made an impassioned plea for more crisis accommodations as the domestic violence issue has forced them to turn them away Coast Shelter Executive Officer Laurie Maher says, “The shocking fact is we are only able to accommodate one in five people who need crisis accommodation because of the high demand. Unfortunately, we had to turn away about 26 women and children a week from our crisis accommodation” Legal Aid Cuts in the last Federal Budget have meant that have exhibited a lack of accessibility in services to help them report and escape family violence

Family Court Proceedings •

Court proceedings, especially in the Family Court try to achieve justice, however often put victims in danger, due to their inadequate training for domestic violence cases

Ø Cases - Rosie Batty: Her son, Luke Batty, died as a result of the Family Courts decision for Luke to spend time with his father, even with an ADVO Ø Opinion - From the ABC news segment, “These women are not just statistics”, "Going to the police station the next day to have my statement and photos taken was confronting. I felt like a criminal. I felt victimised again by the justice system: like a pawn on a chess board waiting to be moved." -Michelle's Story (Victim) Ø Family Court - The Family Law Act 1975 requires judges to make custody decisions in the child's best interests. - But, as Griffith University criminologist Samantha Jeffries notes, judges are overwhelmingly determining a child's best interests in a way that is "weighted more toward the parental rights of abusers than the safety of children - Maintaining abusive fathers' relationships with their children are the primary consideration in determinations of a child's best interests - Often want shared custody with child spending time with both parents, due to their “best interests”. Consequently, this means that spend time with the abusive parent, putting the child in danger Ø Judges (Victim Blaming) à (The Guardian, August 2016) - NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team States that judges and lawyers overseeing domestic violence cases sometimes minimise perpetrator accountability and use victimblaming terms, highlighting the need to educate court staff about the importance of language - Their report found in some of the cases reviewed judicial staff “used mutualising language such as ‘volatile relationship’ or ‘stormy relationship’ to describe cases where a domestic violence abuser had a long history of using violence against the victim”. - Opinion: § NSW Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service director Maria Le Breton says, “You do see it in the local courts, where sometimes remarks are made that minimise domestic violence, which can have a huge impact on the victim as well,” she said (Daily Telegraph, August 2016) § The root causes of domestic violence are buried so deeply into our national psyche that even our judges, the people we pay to be impartial, appear to believe that men kill women for a complex range of psycho-social reasons - and because women bring it on themselves. (SMH, August 2016) à blaming the victim Ø Reforms o Rosie Batty is calling for the overhaul of the Family Law System for Domestic Violence (SMH, June 2016) - Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty has blasted the Family Court of Australia, accusing the system of often failing to recognise the impact of abuse - Ms Batty called for a new domestic violence test in custody cases to determine whether it’s safe for children to spend time with either parent - Believes all judges and magistrates involved in Family Court Matters should undergo compulsory training to help them understand its impact - Can lead to “diabolic” situations which allow abusers access to children, reflective of her own experience

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o Rosie Batty’s Women’s Legal Services Campaign (SMH, June 2016) Proposed a number of measures, backed up by more than 90 domestic violence groups, suggesting ...