Domestic Violence in Australia: Sociocultural Reasons and Solutions

In Australia, in 2015, one women was killed every week as a result
of domestic violence. What sociocultural reasons have led to the
prevalence of these crimes and what can be done to reduce these
figures in the future?
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The Family Law Act describes the concept of domestic violence as a violent and coercive
behaviour which is abusive and traumatising in nature. The violence occurs between people
with a relationship within a domestic scenario. When one member of the family inflicts abuse
and violence on others in the domestic settings, the violence is domestic in nature. In
Australia the domestic violence term is tackled as a separate concept from other forms of
violence, and it is referred to as family violence and abuse. Common victims of domestic
abuse are generally women, while children and men are also victims. In 1996, the nationwide
presence and extent of domestic violence against women was brought to light by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics in a national Women’s Safety survey, which examined
national data and information regarding all sorts of violence against women. (Roberson, and
Wallace, 2016) The Act, while attempting to benefit the situation of victims, has issues as
well. Firstly, there are lengthy delays in investigation, proceedings and justice. The Act
cannot always prevent violence when it takes time to apply sanctions against the violent
persons. Secondly, most court proceedings are quite costly. Many women are financially
weak to bear the costs. Thirdly, after the cases are over, there are no follow ups to track
whether the verdict is being respected or followed trough. Fourthly, the Act is just a
legislation. The real effect lies in the community efforts and the law enforcement actions. At
times people are not aware of the Act. Cases go unreported. Fifthly, in many cases the
punishment is less. The abuser is often let go of. Abusers tend to take revenge by killing of
the victims, and the Act loses its purpose.
The Australian Bureau observes that there is no fixed definition of domestic violence.
Domestic violence is of several types- mental abuse, bullying, financial control, physical
violence, psychological manipulation, emotional trapping are the most common types of
violence especially in the domestic settings. (Stuckless et al 2015) The Violence against
Women in Australia report, of the National research Organisation for Women’s Safety, states
that one in every 4 women experience domestic violence or have experienced it at one point
of time. One in every 11 falling victims to domestic violence have been found to be one in
six women and one in twenty men. Women below 15 years of age have been abused as much
as those above that age.
Violence against women is a serious widespread problem which is not easy to prevent. The
OurWatch organisation of Australia gave out a series of statistics, showing how deep rooted
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the issue is. Following are the facts that were collated by OurWatch, and the perpetrators of
the crimes are generally partners, spouses, family members, relatives, known people and
friends. (Website of Our Watch Organisation) Averagely one woman succumbs to physical
domestic violence every week. One in every five women has faced sexual abuse. One in four
women has endured emotional abuse. Women are likely to be hospitalised more than men for
domestic violence reasons alone.
The causes and the effects of domestic violence against women emerge generally from
factors like social and economic factors, personality attributes, childhood experiences and so
on.
The United Nations brought out a 2003 press release on the observations regarding the social
and economic factors that result in all sorts of violence against women, especially the
domestic violence. (Website of United Nations Organisation) Societal issues make women
vulnerable as they try to survive in the male dominated society. Women coming from broken
homes and low income background are likely to have less education, less resources like
money and less opportunities to have a good lifestyle. Scarce opportunities lead to women
falling prey to trafficking, violence, exploitation and even domestic violence. Domestic
crimes are often observed as acts of subjugation, as are all forms of violent acts. The
Australian government had set up the first National Summit on Domestic Violence and had
created several Partnerships against Domestic Violence initiatives, in efforts to combat the
domestic violence issues.
There are socio cultural, psychological and economic causes of domestic violence against
women. Men are likely to be more abusive than women due to the following factors,
according Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety and VicHealth-
(Website of White Ribbon Organisation) Firstly, gender norms and inequalities. Due to
attitude of the male dominated society, males tend to think of themselves as superior in all
regards. They like being in the position of power and dislike being challenged by those whom
they perceive as inferior, weak and vulnerable. Secondly, childhood experiences. Men
coming from abusive families, if unchecked, repeat what they had observed as children. They
tend to take the violence as normal practice. Most men become hardened and unsensitised to
what is right and wrong. Thirdly economic situation. Economic situations like poverty,
unemployment, general unhappiness socially and professionally can lead to men venting their
frustrations on women. Many tend to blame the female members of the domestic settings for
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