Historical Trends in Queensland Domestic Violence Reporting

Family violence in Indigenous communities is linked with the Domestic violence policy (Parliament of Australia, 2011). The Current definition used by the Australia government to guide domestic violence policies. Is that domestic violence “refers to acts of violence that occur between people who have, or have had, an intimate relationship” (Chung & Wendt, 2015, p.202). In addition the policy states that violence in a family relationship to be between two people related by blood or marriage. (Department of communities Child Safety and Disability Services, 2012). Thus family violence must have a separate policy to be able to address the accurate impacts of the problem in Indigenous Communities (Larsen & Peterson, 2010).

Out of the shadows and into the limelight, the once hidden crime of domestic violence has recently emerged within the Australian community as a widespread criminal issue. This abuse of power occurs in a relationship when one partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate and control the other. Inflicting physical harm upon another human being is undoubtedly a breach of the criminal law, yet the Australian legal system takes little measures to protect the wider community from this type of violence. According to Family Lawyer Richard Ingleby, domestic violence has often been condoned by the legal system due to the fact that assaults occur in the ‘private’ realm of the home where legal measures are regarded as inappropriate, and interventionist. However, by overlooking domestic violence as a criminal offence, does the Australian legal system fail to adequately protect the family unit from this form of violence? Recent studies from the Australian Bureau of Statics have revealed that 23% of women who have ever been married or engaged in a de facto relationship have experienced violence by a partner at some time during the relationship. Due to the secrecy that once surrounded this kind of abuse, victims often feel unable to speak out and seek help, therefore even large surveys cannot provide accurate estimates of the extend of domestic violence within the Australia community (Domestic Violence and Incest Resource Centre, 1998). Despite the high incidence rate of

What used to be a private issue has significantly reformed to be punishable by law highlighting society’s changing values. The main victims of domestic violence are usually women and children who are subjected to extreme abuse by the spouse. The Family Law Act 1975(Cth) established the Family court which attempted to address issues of domestic violence. However, the imposition of this legislation has reflected societal concerns where the law does not effectively deal with domestic violence as cases are continually unreported. Also, police are not adequately investigating the issue. For example, in the case of Swan, Wayne v D.P.P (2008) an indigenous woman was reluctant in reporting abuse until she was caught wandering the streets, heavily affected by alcohol. Due to cultural barriers, indigenous woman are compelled endure intense abuse in the household. The enactment of Crimes Amendment (Apprehended Violence) Act 1999(NSW) made it mandatory for police to investigate breaches of apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs) and arrest perpetrators if necessary. Greater use of ADVOs and investigation has reduced the amount of verbal abuse, physical violence and harassments. However, the case of Jean Majdalawi (1996) forced legislations to take further actions as the victim was shot in the head by her husband outside Parramatta Family Court even though an ADVO had been filed against him. Consequently, the event

Domestic Violence is a major issue in Australia right now and many believe that there are not enough resources to help domestic violence victims. 25% of women report being affected by domestic violence in their lifetimes and yet there is still not much being done. One of the main reasons women stays in the home where they are experiencing domestic abuse is because they do not feel safe leaving their home. Domestic violence victims are being turned away from refuges and being sent to motels and caravan parks, the refuges instead take in homeless people.

Domestic violence is a growing concern in Australia. Police handled more than 3,000 domestic violence matters in just one suburb of Brisbane in the past 12 months and for the whole of Queensland, handled another 25,000 matters.

This essay will critically analyse the significant changes that have occurred within domestic violence which is viewed as a vital subject within the criminal justice system. It will explore the way that domestic violence has progressively become a concerning issue in the criminal justice system from being relatively acceptable in recent history. In addition to this, the essay will explore legislation changes in relation to domestic violence and how the police have arguably been forced to change their attitudes towards a problem that was once thought of as a private regard. It will critically analyse the theories put forward as to why domestic violence occurs in today’s society. It will explore the weaknesses within the criminal justice system, especially the police in regards to domestic violence, the police previously viewed domestic violence as a matter of which they should not get involved. However as mentioned in the essay, after many reviews within the system, many improvements have been made to help protect the victim.

Domestic violence is an ongoing epidemic affecting people around the world. Over the years, the problem of domestic violence has raised an abundance of questions: how serious is the issue, and what actions could be implemented to prevent it? In the article “Domestic Violence Has Been a Problem Throughout U.S. History”, it explains how the issue of domestic violence has been going on for decades; however, did not get address until recent years. The author, Cathy Young, points out there has been programs and shelters implemented, but the issue of domestic violence still remains a serious problem today. “Prevalence of Domestic Violence in the United States”, provides a

Gender violence may be seen as a practice which maintains the patriarchal dividend, and that violence is also a product of the dividend (Flood et al. 2007). According to Connell (2005) structural inequality which creates the dividend involves the use of violence in order to enforce dominance, and the forms of gender violence include harassment, assault, rape and intimate partner violence. In Australia, approximately one in five women have experienced sexual violence, and one in three women have experienced violence from an intimate partner (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 2008). This indicates that gender violence is prevalent in Australia, so the dividend has a significant impact on this aspect of gender relations. It has been established that women may be disadvantaged by the patriarchal dividend in terms of employment, the wage gap and gender roles, which are issues that are relevant to women’s economic status, and also violence. Economic status is an important factor in domestic, family and sexual violence, with economically disadvantaged women being more at risk of violence, and vulnerable to remaining in abusive relationships (Phillips and Vandenbroek 2014). As well as socioeconomic status, other social factors are important, like disability, age, and race, for example Indigenous women experience higher rates of violence than non-Indigenous women (Phillips and Vandenbroek 2014). This illustrates the idea that the consequences of the patriarchal dividend can have a different impact depending on other relevant social factors. In summary, Australian gender relations are significantly affected by the patriarchal dividend with regards to gender violence, as it appears to be a prevalent phenomenon today, as well, this impact does not affect all groups of people in the same

The population of domestic violence in Australia has allowed some government fund to the community to create many charities and campaigns to raise awareness of its existence to end.

Domestic violence is well-known to be a serious problem in modern society. In most cases, the victims are women. According to Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade (2011), among all the cases of domestic violence that resulted in murder in Ontario from 2002 to 2009, 80% of victims were women. Obviously, many cases are not reported to the police for different reasons. Neil Boyd (2015) points out that it may be because victims did not think it was important or did not want to involve police. Domestic violence includes physical, assault or aggressive actions towards family numbers, spouse, intimate partner, boyfriend or girlfriend. Statistics Canada (2010) states that intimate partner violence is higher when female

Domestic violence is an issue that is impacting the indigenous Australian population (Korff, J. 2015).This should be concerning to Australians so that they may help reduce fatal deaths by domestic violence (Korff, J. 2015).

Domestic violence (DV) encompasses social and economic deprivation, and physical, sexual or psychological acts of violence that occurs within domestic settings. In one Australian survey, it was reported that one-third of women in intimate relationships, whether former or current, experienced some form of domestic violence (Morgan & Chadwick, 2009). Therefore, it is vital that risk assessment tools are able to accurately assess an individual’s degree of risk and also predict recidivism (the act of reoffending) in order to formulate effective preventative schemes (Hilton, Harris & Popham, 2010). Given the fundamental role that risk assessment has in

The research aim of 'Real' violence?: gender and (male) violence is to highlight the links between Australia’s cultural perspective of gender and violence, particularly the social distinction between ‘normal’ (male to male) violence and domestic (male to female) violence. The writer hypothesises that violence should be looked at as a social construct of masculinity rather than focusing on the degree of violence or the gender of the victim. The aims, questions and hypotheses are clear and logically developed from the literature review. However, the literature review is minimal, and few sources have been found to give a background to the concepts presented.

According to data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), in 2003 to 2012, domestic violence accounted for almost a quarter of all violent crimes committed. According to the same survey conducted, only 55% of those domestic violence crimes were reported to the police. Based on a study that was conducted on past domestic violence crimes, there was a decline of domestic violence from 1994-2003 but in recent years, depending on the type of intimate partner violence, each either had a small increase or stayed the same (Truman, 2014).

Another astoundingly important issue the media fails to cover daily is the domestic violence in Papua New Guinea that has reached its highest point in 2015. In 1992 family violence occurred in about two thirds of the households in Papua New Guinea; however, the numbers today are unreported and unaccounted for because the government fails to keep track of a severe issue affecting most women in the country. In a 2013 survey 80 percent of men reported that they had enacted some form of abuse on their partner(s) at some point. Through all this, the police do not take an active part in helping victims