There are many ways to hurt somebody, and domestic violence encompasses them all – physical, psychological, sexual and financial abuse, in private and in public, in relationships and often for many years after separation.
University of Queensland Professor of Law Heather Douglas has spent 20 years working in domestic and family violence, and is starkly aware of the stress and trauma faced by victims. The oft-cited statistics around violence against women are shocking.
Nearly one Australian woman is killed each week by a current or former partner, and one in three Australian women has experienced physical violence, with many also experiencing sexual violence or emotional abuse.
These distressing statistics have prompted Professor Douglas’s latest project, the National Domestic and Family Violence Bench Book.
Because there are also many ways to protect somebody: from holding perpetrators accountable to ensuring effective sentencing and legal processes that treat victims with dignity and respect. Judges need tools to help them make the best decisions to provide this protection, and Professor Douglas and the bench book team are working towards providing these tools.
The book has been driven by a joint Australian Law Reform Commission and New South Wales Law Reform Commission report that found inconsistencies across jurisdictions, both between Commonwealth and state courts, and between the different areas of law. This means victims of domestic violence will be treated differently depending on the state in which their case is heard. And many victims have multiple issues, with some heard in the Family Court, which comes under Commonwealth law, and some in state courts. This means victims, perpetrators, legal teams and judicial officers are dealing with multiple and complicated sets of rules and laws, with scope for inconsistent treatment and orders.
“For example, in Victoria the perpetrator cannot directly cross-examine the victim in a protection order case, but in the family court (which comes under Commonwealth law) they can,” Professor Douglas says.
Timeline:
2010: The Australian Law Reform Commission and New South Wales Law Reform Commission produce a domestic violence report
2011: The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022 is released
June 2015: Attorney-General Senator George Brandis commissions the bench book and the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration engages Professor Douglas to lead the project
August 2016: The first half of the National Family Violence Bench Book goes live
June 2017: The second half of the book is added
2018: Researchers will use feedback to update the site
2019: The bench book will continue to be updated