The launch was a feature of the inaugural Ministerial Council on Family Violence and is being promoted as a foundation for development of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women [here], which encompasses six outcomes
1: Communities are safe and free from violenceThat Plan is a worthy initiative, given the comment by the Ministers that "nearly one in three Australian women experience physical violence and nearly one in five experience sexual violence over their lifetime".
2: Relationships are respectful
3: Services meet the needs of women and their children
4: Responses are just
5: Perpetrators stop their violence
6: Systems work together effectively.
That statistic is reflected in the statement that "the Australian Government's position on violence against women is one of zero tolerance", a statement of aspiration rather than immediate impact, given that violence is primarily addressed by state/territory law.
The comment that "Laws must be strong enough to hold perpetrators to account and offer justice and safety for victims and their families" is impeccable but one might wonder about a more tangible commitment to greater victim support and even prosecution of offenders.
The Report was prepared for the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children by the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS), the national government's quasi-commercial legal practice.
It notes that
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported in 2005 that physical assaults against women most commonly occur in the home, that family members or friends were the most likely perpetrators of physical assaults on women, andIt finds significant differences in -
that, of those women who were physically assaulted, 46% (780,500) were assaulted by a current or previous partner. The position is worse for Indigenous women, who are estimated to be up to 40 times more likely to experience violence in the home than non-Indigenous women.
* maximum penalties for contravening a domestic violence order;The report also provides an analysis of overlaps and potential gaps between the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) [here] and state/territory domestic violence protection orders; examines the registration process for domestic violence protection orders; and considers the 'portability' of those orders between jurisdictions.
* approaches to counselling and rehabilitation programs; and
* police obligations to take action where domestic violence is suspected.
It offers what the Attorney-General characterises as "a valuable basis" for the current inquiries by the Australian Law Reform Commission and New South Wales Law Reform Commission regarding domestic violence laws. Those inquiries follow recommendations in the Time for Action report by the National Council.
The new report covers
* an overview of all state, territory and New Zealand domestic violence-specific laws providing for the making of protection orders;The Report may inform consideration by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) of a national register of protection orders. It comes a decade after the governments released a 285 page report on Model domestic violence laws [here] following the 1997 Domestic Violence Summit and after substantial publication by experts such as Dr Patricia Easteal.
* a comparative analysis of what behaviours constitute domestic violence for the purposes of those laws, and what relationship must exist between the persons concerned in order for the legislation to apply;
* a comparative analysis of laws in each jurisdiction for the registration and enforcement of domestic violence protection orders made in other jurisdictions ('portability' of orders);
* a comparative analysis of the laws in relation to orders which operate to exclude a perpetrator of domestic violence from the person's home (where the perpetrator and the victim would normally cohabit);
* a comparative analysis of the laws of the examined jurisdictions providing for mandatory and voluntary counselling for perpetrators of domestic violence;
* an overview of the laws that make stalking an offence;
* an overview of provisions in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) that have particular significance in relation to domestic violence; and
* an analysis of areas where there is overlap and potential for conflict between orders or injunctions made under that Act and orders made under state/territory domestic violence protection orders legislation.
