Comprehensive Report: Domestic and Family Violence in Australia

This report provides a detailed analysis of domestic and family violence in Australia, examining its significance, impact, and frequency. It references the Family Law Act 1975 and highlights statistics from various sources, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The report discusses the societal impact of domestic violence, the government's responses, and the failures in curbing the issue. A critical analysis is presented, including opinions from various figures, and the abuse against fundamental human rights is discussed. The report concludes with recommendations for improved policy implementation, uniform laws, and increased support for victims. The report underscores the need for stricter penalties and confidential information sharing to address the pervasive issue of domestic and family violence in Australia.

Running head: FAMILY VIOLENCE
DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION:..........................................................................................................................2
DISCUSS:........................................................................................................................................2
Domestic violence: significance and impact:..............................................................................2
Critical analysis:..........................................................................................................................4
Abuse against right:.....................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION:..............................................................................................................................6
RECOMMENDATION:..................................................................................................................7
Reference:........................................................................................................................................9

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INTRODUCTION:
The subject matter of the case is based on the domestic and family violence in Australia.
Family Law Act 1975 has given a clear definition regarding the term. According to this Act,
when an individual put another member of the same family on fear to cause harm to that person,
it causes domestic violence. Under this offence, criminal violence can be observed between the
people who have intimate relationship. The provision of domestic violence will apply on the
same sex person. According to the “Fact file: Domestic Violence in Australia” (2016), it has
been observed that one in three women and one in five men in Australia are experiencing family
abuse from their spouses or family members1. Further, it has been reported in “One in Three
Campaign: Infographic” (2016), “every ten days, a male Australian died between the year 2010
and 2012”2. In this report, the significance, impact and frequency of family violence have been
discussed. Further, a critical analysis regarding the facts of the case has been stated.
DISCUSS:
Domestic violence: significance and impact:
The crime related to the domestic violence is a societal curse. It weakens the relation
bond among family members. According to the report submitted by the Australian Bureau of
Statistics, most of the family members who are suffering from family violence could not file
their case or make any complaint before the police station and this mentality provokes the
offender. It has been reported in 2016 in Melbourne that almost 21% of the family violence have
1 Fact file: Domestic violence in Australia". 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
2 "One in Three Campaign - Infographic". www.oneinthree.com.au. Retrieved 2016-09-05

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involved alcohol cases3. More critically, a major part of the victim is below the age of fifteen
years and they are facing physical and sexual abuse from their family members. According to the
police report of 2016, Victoria leads the filing domestic violence cases in Australia4. Therefore, it
can be stated that in Australia, the offence related to the domestic violence is significant in nature
and it creates great impact on the society. the violence against the Australian women were for the
first time reported in the year 1996 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and according to this
report, most of the women are ill-treated by their families and the members are coerced them so
that they could not file any allegation against them. Considering the vehement nature of the
offence, the then Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard had taken many steps to resolve the
issues. A program named ‘Partnerships against Domestic Violence' had been promoted to
identify the sources of the offence and steps had been taken to mitigate the problem. In the year
2001, an initiative against the sexual assault has been taken and the organization succeeds to
resolve the dispute to certain extent. Many divorce cases have been filed due to the excessive
family violence and in the year 2009, certain initiatives have been taken by the government to
generate certain cost to the victim. A program has been promoted named in 2009 named 'The
Cost of Violence against Women and their Children' to estimate certain cost to the affected
persons5. However, even after so many steps taken by the government, it has been observed that
the scope of the offence could not be mitigated and the rate of offence has been increased. The
offence related to the family violence has been occurred invariably in Victoria that reflects the
inability of respective state to curb the offence6. However, the government has taken certain
3 Family violence, alcohol consumption and the likelihood of criminal offences(PDF). Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia: Crime Statistics Agency. December 2016. p. 4. ISSN 2205-6378
4 "Australian police deal with domestic violence every two minutes". 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2016-08-24
5 "The Cost of Violence against Women and their Children" (PDF). Department of Social Services. March 2009.
Retrieved 2 Sep 2016
6 "EXPERIMENTAL FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STATISTICS". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 23
Sep 2015. Retrieved 2 Sep 2016

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measures to compensate the victims and in 2015, the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had
taken certain monetary measures to the victims of domestic violence. However, in the absence of
any strict rules and application of the same, the offence could not be stopped and therefore, all
these initiatives reflect the government’s inabilities. Further, the government has failed to strict
the provision relating to the sexual offence generated by the family members of the victim. Being
a federal country, legislative application in every states of Australia is different and these cause a
great dilemma to the legislative body. Therefore, it is required to implement certain uniform law
regarding the same.
Critical analysis:
Daniel Andrews opines (2016) that the Family Law Act 2008 has failed to make a proper
approach and it failed to apply successfully on the offenders and this cause a mass killing of 32
members in a family of Victoria. Therefore, certain strict steps are required to be taken to stop
the frequent incidents of family violence in each state of Australia7. It has been clarified from the
report of the Australian Bureau of Statistics; the frequent nature of the domestic violence has
reflected the government’s inability regarding control over the issues. Further, it has been
observed that the state government has organized many compensatory schemes. However, all
were in vain in the absence of any proper application of the rules. Therefore, it is to be stated that
the government should take a close vigil over these issues. Further, according to the police report
submitted in the year 2016, it has been stated that Victoria has secured the highest state for
domestic violence8. Further, it has been quoted by Anne Summers (2016) that” "… the
7 Goodman, Lisa A., et al. "Bringing a network-oriented approach to domestic violence services: A focus group
exploration of promising practices." Violence against women22.1 (2016): 64-89.
8 Roberts, Donna, Peter Chamberlain, and Paul Delfabbro. "Women's experiences of the processes associated with
the family court of Australia in the context of domestic violence: A thematic analysis." Psychiatry, Psychology and
Law 22.4 (2015): 599-615.

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incontrovertible truth about domestic violence, that it is overwhelmingly concentrated in
dysfunctional remote Indigenous communities and public housing estates." The idea of feminism
has been generated regarding the excessive commission of domestic violence. According to
certain protesters, the male dominating society has failed to identify the source of the offences
and government has failed to lower the risks regarding the domestic violence9. However,
according to Natasha Stott Despoja (2016), the offence relating to the domestic violence should
not be discriminated in nature and according to the reports of Australia, both the male and the
female has to face the problems regarding family violence. Therefore, she has stated that the
offence regarding family violence should not be discriminated and regardless of ethnicity. In
addition to this, according to BOSCAR report, risk of violence is generated due to financial
stress and personal stress.
It is the duty of the government to take considerable steps against the crime and
according to Mike Baird (2015), the government needs to promote a program to understand the
issues cropped up in the family and mitigate those issues to stop this crime. Further, it has been
observed that many states have enacted certain rules to stop the violence. In Victoria, Family
Violence Protection Act 2008 has governed all the rules regarding the domestic violence10.
However, in the absence of proper application of the Act, family related violence could not be
chased and stopped. According to Daniel Andrews, "We'll overhaul our broken support system
from the bottom up".
9 Hunter, Tara, et al. "Experience of domestic violence routine screening in Family Planning NSW clinics." Sexual
health 14.2 (2016): 155-163.
10 Boyle, Peter. "Unionists rally against domestic violence." Green Left Weekly 1156 (2017): 4.

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Further, the incident of series of family violence in Victoria has been criticized and the
Australian government has to rethink over the issue. The most remarkable incident regarding the
crime is the story of Luke Betty who was killed by his father11. Such incidents are quite frequent
in Australia and therefore, there is a need of proper implementation of the legislations has been
cropped up.
Abuse against right:
Every individual has certain fundamental rights and the nature of those rights is legal.
According to the basic principle of law, every person should enjoy his right to life and liberty.
Anything that goes against this could be treated as violation to the fundamental rights.
Considering the effectiveness of domestic violence, it can be stated that it is a direct abuse
against all these basic rights of a human being12. According to the definition of domestic
violence, their family members affect the victims and they are usually getting physically or
sexually abused. This act snatches the rights to life and liberty and they are restrained to make
any complaint before the authority13. It has been proved by the report made by Australian Bureau
of Statistics (1997) that most of the victims are undemonstrative to file complaint against all the
crimes committed against them due to family pressure. All these mentalities have gone against
the moral principle of human right.
CONCLUSION:
Therefore, it can be stated that in Australia, the offence regarding domestic violence has
been regarded as one of the most serious social curse and the failure of government has made the
11 "Royal Commission into Family Violence - Full Report - Interactive"(PDF). Victorian Government. March 2016.
Retrieved 24 Aug 2016
12 Simpson, Sue. "Unions playing role to end family violence." Education 96.3 (2015): 7.
13 Buzawa, Eve S., and Carl G. Buzawa, eds. Global Responses to Domestic Violence. Springer, 2017.

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crime more violent. Further, the laxities of the governmental implementation policies have made
the condition worse. Certain gaps are identified where it has been observed that the whole system
of domestic violence is suffering from weak policy implementation. Further, no effort from the
government has been taken to prevent the occurrence of family violence. In addition to this, no
positive response has been derived from the part of the government and there are few resources
to help the victims economically. The government has to create effective legal provisions to stop
the phenomenon.
RECOMMENDATION:
Considering various issues and incidents of family violence, certain recommendations have
been cropped up that are states as follows:
 It is recommended that the Australian government is required to make proper
implementation of those Acts enacted for settling the dispute of domestic violence;
 It is recommended that a uniform code of law be required to prevent the crime.
 The risk assessment and management panel should be more careful about the application
of this crime.
 The government is recommended to promote programs where certain counseling process
regarding the victims could be taken. This will help the government to identify the rate of
domestic violence in the family.
 The government should give importance to all the matter of domestic violence and all the
disputes should be resolved by emergency service.

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 The Australian government has taken many steps on the subject bit failed to apply the
provisions specifically. Therefore, it is recommended to make considerable approaches
regarding the same.
 The agencies appointed to lower the risk of domestic violence should have to share the
information in confidential way and helping hand should be extended to the victims so
that they can get through the problems.
 The Australian government is required to make all the amendments as against the
provisions of the present law and make the penalty provision stricter.

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Reference:
"Australian police deal with domestic violence every two minutes". 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2016-
08-24
"EXPERIMENTAL FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STATISTICS". Australian
Bureau of Statistics. 23 Sep 2015. Retrieved 2 Sep 2016
"One in Three Campaign - Infographic". www.oneinthree.com.au. Retrieved 2016-09-05
"Royal Commission into Family Violence - Full Report - Interactive"(PDF). Victorian
Government. March 2016. Retrieved 24 Aug 2016
"The Cost of Violence against Women and their Children" (PDF). Department of Social
Services. March 2009. Retrieved 2 Sep 2016
Boyle, Peter. "Unionists rally against domestic violence." Green Left Weekly 1156 (2017): 4.
Buzawa, Eve S., and Carl G. Buzawa, eds. Global Responses to Domestic Violence. Springer,
2017.
Fact file: Domestic violence in Australia". 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
Family violence, alcohol consumption and the likelihood of criminal offences(PDF). Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia: Crime Statistics Agency. December 2016. p. 4. ISSN 2205-6378
Goodman, Lisa A., et al. "Bringing a network-oriented approach to domestic violence services:
A focus group exploration of promising practices." Violence against women22.1 (2016): 64-89.

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Hunter, Tara, et al. "Experience of domestic violence routine screening in Family Planning NSW
clinics." Sexual health 14.2 (2016): 155-163.
Roberts, Donna, Peter Chamberlain, and Paul Delfabbro. "Women's experiences of the processes
associated with the family court of Australia in the context of domestic violence: A thematic
analysis." Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 22.4 (2015): 599-615.
Simpson, Sue. "Unions playing role to end family violence." Education 96.3 (2015): 7.

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