FAMILY - domestic violence

Question 1

List 4 laws (legislation)

Answer 1

• Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW)
• Surveillance Devices Amendment (Police Body-Worn Video) Act 2014 (NSW)
• Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
• Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Amendment Act 2013

Question 2

List 2 quotes (media articles)

Answer 2

• ‘the threat of immediate arrest for breaching an ADVO is a fairly effective deterrent’ (Weatherburn, 2016) SMH
• ‘the fact that a law is often broken is not proof it has failed…we have to ask whether the frequency of that behaviour would be higher in the law’s absence’ (ditto)

Question 3

Give 3 stats

Answer 3

• 34% of ADVOs are breached within 1 month (BOCSAR, 2014)
• 98% of women who experienced physical violence no longer did after taking out an AVO
• 23% breach an ADVO within the 1st-3rd month (BOCSAR 2014)

Question 4

Give 2 examples of a non-legal mechanism

Answer 4

• Social crime prevention: Let’s Stop it at the Start Campaign, if you see disrespect, unmute yourself. Eventually turning a blind eye can lead to a black one. (2021). More than 2/3 of adults who saw the ads took some form of positive action. Previous ads had over 43 million views online and hundreds of thousands of shares on social media –> widespread awareness
• Minimum Standards for Men’s Behaviour Change Program: helps shape the behaviour of perpetrators and change their violent responses, its about holding them accountable and recognising the needs and safety of victims

Question 5

Briefly explain 3 cases

Answer 5

• Baxter case 2020: Mr Baxter murdered his three children and wife despite having an AVO imposed upon him
• R v Gittany 2014 NSW SC murdered his fiancé but for months had been secretly tracking her whereabouts and had increasing control over her such as telling her to wear less attractive clothes in public. Highlights the complex definitions of what constitutes domestic violence and how physical violence often follows a pattern of social and economic abuse
• Batty case 2014: Luke Batty was murdered by his father during his weekly contact that was enforced by the courts in a parenting plan. The coroner substantiated that ‘no one agency could have predicted this act of filicide (deliberate act of a parent killing their own child)’, however, due to his previous violent behaviour towards Mrs Batty and the fact that the warrant was out for his arrest and the time of the offence, it reveals that the legal system ineffectively assessed the acceptability of the ‘spend time with’ orders

Question 6

Explain 2 law reforms

Answer 6

• Surveillance Devices Amendment (Police Body-Worn Video) Act 2014 (NSW) introduced new police powers that allow police to film incidents of domestic violence which could be used in evidence to support a conviction, capable of recording visual, sound or both –> an evaluation Charles Sturt University of the new legislation found it had positive endorsement capabilities in achieving justice for victims, supporting successful prosecution, especially for those relating to DV
• Section 27 of Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) was amended to increase the harshness of penalties for perpetrators of chocking, strangling or suffocating their victims. Punishment max. was 2 years now 5.