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A stand-alone strangulation offence was introduced in Queensland, Australia in 2016. One of the elements of the Queensland strangulation offence is that the victim did not consent to the strangulation. This paper reviews the harms and dangers associated with strangulation before overviewing the debates about the use of strangulation during sex. Drawing on focus group discussions conducted with domestic violence support workers and men's behaviour change workers, we discuss four overlapping themes identified in the discussions. These were perceptions that: strangulation during sex is normalised; consent is not informed; it happens in the context of coercive control; and the requirement of consent opens a loophole in the strangulation offence. Considering the issues raised, and the clear risks and harms, we suggest that consideration should be given to whether it is ever possible to consent to strangulation and we consider possible reforms such as following the two-tiered approaches to consent used in the England and Wales law and elsewhere in Australia. We also conclude that law reforms such as these are partial solutions and there is significant need for more community education about the risks and harms of strangulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been significant investment by police agencies in the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs). Preliminary evidence suggests that when used in the context of domestic and family violence, BWC footage may strengthen evidential cases and prosecutions. There is, however, a paucity of research examining the merits of and risks posed by the use of BWC footage in DFV incidents and legal proceedings. Notably absent in much of the literature are the views and experiences of police officers who, as initial owners of BWC footage, are likely to affect how it is produced and interpreted. This paper presents findings from the first Australian study to examine how police officers, as users and operators of BWC technology, perceive the use of BWC footage in DFV-related civil and criminal legal proceedings in two Australian state jurisdictions: Western Australia and Queensland. While broadly supportive of BWC technology, police respondents, especially those from specialised DFV units, identified various benefits and limitations to using BWC footage in the context of DFV, including that BWCs have the potential to capture DFV upon police call-outs, but can be limiting insofar as they do not show ongoing patterns of violence. Our findings highlight the importance of exercising domain-specific, rather than a 'one size fits all' approach when it comes to understanding the benefits and limitations of BWC technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines domestic violence. We present insights from a highly influential paper. Here are the highlights from this paper: How police respond to domestic and family violence (DFV) has important ramifications for the safety of women and their children. Despite recognition of the key role police play in responding to DFV and the importance of the perspectives of survivors in informing appropriate responses, there has been no recent exploration of survivors' experiences of the police response to DFV in Queensland. This article draws on interviews with women in Brisbane, Australia, who have experienced DFV and engaged in some way with the legal system. It explores women's reasons for calling, or not calling, the police and their experiences with police between 2014 and 2017. The article highlights the role of police culture in appropriately responding to DFV. It suggests that cultural change is needed and may be facilitated by ongoing training, addressing gender balance within the police service and introducing women-only police stations. For our overseas readers, we then present the insights from this paper in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by the prevalence and severity of domestic and family violence (DFV) perpetrated by men against women in Australia. The impact of their experiences is further exacerbated by the level of social and cultural marginalisation affecting Indigenous communities, families and individuals along with regional, rural or remote living. The pervasive, ongoing impact of colonisation, dispossession and transgenerational trauma continues to shape the experiences of Indigenous women and their communities, including their help‐seeking decisions and opportunities, and their level of trust in and access to adequate and culturally sensitive support services. In this paper, we explore the experiences of Indigenous women affected by DFV in two regional Australian settings through face‐to‐face interviews with women (n = 13) and community stakeholders (n = 18). The findings of this study highlight the complex role of social and cultural marginalisation, spiritual (dis)connectedness and role of family as both a stressor and a protective factor. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology is increasingly used by perpetrators of domestic violence to control, coerce, abuse, harass and stalk victim-survivors. Though 'spaceless'-not bound by geography-there are particular ways that place and space shape the impacts of and risks associated with this violence. This paper examines the impact of technology-facilitated violence on victim-survivors of intimate partner violence in regional, rural or remote areas of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland) who are socially or geographically isolated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to problematize individualistic strategies developed in western institutions to address violence against women and suggests more collective responses that engage refugee men. The data comes from a qualitative research project in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Thirty-one interviews with frontline workers from domestic violence and refugee settlement organizations reveal dissenting voices that challenge the hegemony of dominant groups who either advocate gender equality or overemphasize cultural differences. These dissenting voices suggest new knowledge being mobilized by refugees and associated communities, presenting opportunities for nongovernmental organizations and community groups to find ways to align across their differences toward a common goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The criminal law response to adolescent family and dating violence is understudied in Australia. The aim of the present study was to examine the charges and sentences adolescents face when they perpetrate acts of violence against family members or intimate partners, and to better understand the personal circumstances of these adolescents, including whether they have been diagnosed with a mental illness, whether they have a criminal history and whether they have been subject to child protection interventions. We undertook a two stage study analyzing unpublished statistical data and case files held by the Youth Justice department in Queensland, Australia. We found that the most commonly charged offence was contravention of a family violence protection order in the context of adolescent dating violence. We found that many of the adolescents charged with adolescent family and dating violence related offences faced significant challenges and that Indigenous young people were significantly overrepresented in family violence related charges, especially for contraventions of a family violence protection order. Whilst criminal law responses are uncommon in parent–child and sibling violence contexts, family violence protection orders are over-utilized as a response to adolescent dating violence. Such orders when breached result in criminalization of the young person. Resources should to be (re)directed away from the criminal law system and into community-led, place-based initiatives that address the drivers of crime and incarceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers play a critical role in responding to the needs of individuals impacted by domestic and family violence (DFV). Social work literature has long been devoted to understanding the functioning, accessibility and effectiveness of specialist DFV services. In contrast, much less is known about how non-specialist services can, and do, support victims of DFV. This study addresses this important gap by empirically examining the links between DFV and a non-specialist service designed to assist people experiencing financial hardship. To accomplish this, we draw on an expansive administrative database of assistance records (n  = 305,176) from the St Vincent de Paul Society, one of the largest non-specialist support providers in Australia. Descriptive analyses of DFV-related records (n  = 4,374) yield novel insights into the socio-demographic profile of clients seeking assistance due to DFV, the types of assistance they required and how non-specialist providers respond to DFV-related requests for assistance. Our results demonstrate that non-specialist services play a critical yet under-recognised role in responding to people impacted by DFV. This has significant social work practice implications, highlighting the importance of specialist DFV services working in tandem with non-specialist services to deliver the best outcomes for victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, a taskforce was assembled to address increasing rates of domestic violence in Queensland, Australia. The Not Now, Not Ever report outlines a strategy to address domestic violence through 121 recommendations. This plan for reform resulted in a series of changes, particularly for agencies such as the Queensland Police Service (QPS). This study examines the impact of the recommendations on police-recorded domestic violence incidents in the state. Findings indicate that the changes resulted in an initial significant increase, followed by a significant decreasing trend in police-recorded incidents. However, this impact is not experienced equally across regions and districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic Violence (DV) is a persistent public health issue of global proportions affecting an estimated one in four women worldwide. Civil protection orders or domestic violence orders (DVO) are a legal tool used in many jurisdictions, including Australia, to hold the alleged perpetrators accountable and improve the safety of victims. However, the research on the effectiveness of these orders are mixed and perpetrator non-compliance with such orders continues to be a concern. Few studies examine the situational factors that impact compliance with orders, especially in relation to service engagement and support needs of perpetrators of DV during and beyond the protection order court process. Our study uses focus group data to explore the perceptions of police officers (n = 16) and prosecutors (n = 3) involved in policing and prosecuting DV and the compliance with relevant protection orders in two court districts in Queensland, Australia. Alleged perpetrators' comprehension of their order conditions and intersecting experiences of social disadvantage and complex needs emerged as key factors influencing compliance, along with the role of timely engagement with alleged perpetrators during the court process to maximise respondent comprehension of order conditions and engagement with available and relevant support services. In concluding, we highlight the importance of protective and preventive aspects of the DVO process that combine holistic wraparound support with perpetrator accountability in order to maximise perpetrator compliance and thus victim and family safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic and family violence (DFV) disproportionately affects women and children in Australia and globally. On average, one in three women experiences DFV during adulthood and the majority of these women identify as mothers. The prevalence of DFV is higher for Indigenous women and their experiences disproportionately range at the more severe end of physical abuse. For women affected by DFV, mothering during and post this type of victimization is complicated by strategic entrapment, undermining of the mother–child relationship, and threats of harm directed at children and mothers. While a substantial body of literature has examined the experiences of mothers affected by DFV more broadly, research on the experiences of Indigenous mothers affected by DFV remains scarce. Research evidence is further limited when trying to understand the specific constraints experienced by mothers affected by DFV in regional settings. This article examines the experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous mothers affected by DFV in regional Queensland, Australia. Data derived from 17 qualitative face-to-face interviews are used to explore the lived experiences of these mothers. Findings identify the immediate and long-term effects of DFV on mothers and children, including similarities and differences in women's experiences of mothering in the context of DFV, experiences of entrapment in an abusive relationship, experiences of post-separation abuse, strategies used to mitigate its impact on children, and surviving as a female-headed single-parent household in regional settings. While mothers in this study shared a number of similar experiences, regionality, the risk of cultural disconnectedness, and socio-structural marginalization disproportionately affected Indigenous mothers in this study. Findings raise key implications for supporting mothers and children's safety and recovery, access to safe and sustainable housing in regional towns, and the empowerment of Indigenous women to overcome the lasting effects of colonization and disproportionate experiences of disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing the cultural drivers of domestic and family violence (DFV) has become a core policy priority for governments across Australia. Over the last five years, the Queensland Government has taken a particularly strong stance on the issue through its Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Strategy 2016–2026. This strategy identifies the Queensland Government's leading aim of changing the community culture that drives DFV. Although there is significant evidence to support this aim, there is equally important evidence suggesting that public policies often contain problematic assumptions and ideologies that limit their ability to achieve their aims. This article presents a critical discourse analysis of Queensland's Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Strategy 2016–2026 and related policy documents to examine the assumptions and ideologies underpinning Queensland's policy and their potential to impact on policy outcomes. The findings broadly identify three areas of concern, namely an assumed link between attitudes and behaviours; a disproportionate focus on general community members compared to DFV perpetrators; and an implicit reinforcement of the gender hierarchy. The article concludes with a discussion of the broader implications of these findings for future policy development in Australia. This article presents a critical discourse analysis of the Queensland Government's current domestic and family violence policy. It identifies three distinct barriers that limit the policy's potential to achieve its leading aim of changing cultural attitudes and behaviours. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the Queensland case specifically, as well as the broader Australian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this study is to test whether recorded rates of violent crime declined in the context of social distancing regulations in Queensland, Australia. Methods: ARIMA modeling was used to compute 6-month-ahead forecasts of rates for common assault, serious assault, sexual offenses, and breaches of domestic violence orders. These forecasts (and their 95% confidence intervals) are compared to the observed data for March and April 2020. Results: By the end of April, 2020, rates of common, serious, and sexual assault had declined to their lowest level in a number of years. For serious assault and sexual assault, the decline was beyond statistical expectations. The rate at which domestic violence orders were breached remained unchanged. Conclusions: Social distancing regulations are temporally correlated with reductions in some violent crimes. Social distancing is likely to have significantly limited interpersonal interaction, especially in locations and at times when violence is usually prevalent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive coercion is any interference with a person's reproductive autonomy that seeks to control if and when they become pregnant, and whether the pregnancy is maintained or terminated. It includes sabotage of contraceptive methods and intervention in a woman's access to health care. Our study sought to explore the prevalence and associations with reproductive coercion within Queensland, Australia, where legislation addressing domestic violence and abortion are largely state based and undergoing a period of law reform. The study was a retrospective analysis of 3,117 Queensland women who contacted a telephone counseling and information service regarding an unplanned pregnancy. All data were collected by experienced counselors regarding circumstances within a current pregnancy between January 2015 and July 2017. Overall, experience of current domestic violence was significantly more likely to co-occur with reproductive coercion (21.1%) compared with reproductive coercion identified in the absence of other domestic violence (3.1%). Furthermore, significantly more mental health issues were reported by 36.6% of women affected by reproductive coercion, compared with 14.1% of women with no reproductive coercion present. Disclosure for reproductive coercion, violence, and mental health issues was much higher among women who made a repeat contact to the counselors about their pregnancy (17.8%) compared with those who disclosed at first contact (5.9%). These findings demonstrate the importance for health services to ensure that appropriate screening (and re-screening) for reproductive coercion is completed as a distinct part of screening for violence during a health care relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Australian prisons has been the subject of numerous studies. In this article, we build on recent research suggesting that sentencing in domestic violence cases might be an important contributor to this overrepresentation of Indigenous people. We broaden the existing research by examining differences for Indigenous and non-Indigenous defendants in domestic violence cases across a range of sentencing outcomes including imprisonment, probation, fines, and good behavior orders. We also consider whether the degree of geographic remoteness of the court influences these sentencing outcomes. To accomplish this, we use administrative court data from Queensland, Australia, and employ a multinomial hierarchical modeling strategy appropriate for nested court-level multilevel data. The findings further support recent Australian research suggesting that there are sentencing disparities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in relation to domestic violence, and in particular, that harsher sentences such as imprisonment are disproportionately reserved for Indigenous defendants. Our research demonstrates that these disparities in the likelihood of imprisonment occur irrespective of defendants' domestic violence protection order (DVO) breach histories and the location of the sentencing court. Based on the findings, we conclude with a discussion of possible ways forward. Although there is no question that Indigenous women should be safe and free from violence, supporting a harsher sentencing regime for those who breach DVOs is not effective. Instead, we argue that flexible strategies that work within and for Indigenous communities in Australia are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence (IPV) prevalence has not been estimated among the Australian-Muslim community. This information is needed for evidence-based interventions to be implemented. To address this gap, this study provides initial estimates for prevalence of IPV perpetration and victimization among a community sample of Australian-Muslims using the Revises Conflict Tactics Scale. The study utilised a crosssectional questionnaire with a community sample, aged 18 to 74, and living in South East Queensland, Australia to collect data. From the 271 respondents of the study, findings indicate annual perpetration of 24% for physical-assault, 26% sexual coercion, 14% injury, and 65% psychological aggression. The findings also indicate annual victimization rates of 27% for physical assault, 28% sexual coercion, 10% injury and 67% psychological aggression. Though most acts were less severe in nature (7% severe physical assault, 2% severe sexual coercion and 5% severe injury), the study provides initial IPV prevalence estimates for the Australian-Muslim community and requires appropriate cultural and faith based strategies to address this issue in the Muslim community whilst being grounded in the Australian social context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner violence (IPV) on average affects one in four women, with the majority of victim survivors identifying as mothers in national survey data. Children experiencing parental IPV are now equally understood as victims. Extensive research documents the short- and long-term impacts of children's experiences of IPV on their safety and wellbeing. More recently, research has started to examine adolescent children's use of violence in the home as adolescent family violence (AFV). Contributing to this emerging body of research, we draw on narrative interview data from mothers who participated in a larger study on IPV, helpseeking and the perceived impact on children to better understand how mothers make sense of children's use of violence in the home. Mothers identified an emergence of AFV in male children with childhood experiences of adult IPV. Although mothers' experiences of adult and adolescent violence highlight their dual victimisation, mothers frame their abusive children as victims rather than perpetrators. Implications for future research, policy and trauma-informed practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]