Domestic violence in Australia

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This article is about Domestic violence in Australia. For other related topics, see Outline of domestic violence.

In Australia, the issue of domestic violence is addressed through the use of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVO). The use of ADVO and APVO illustrates several flaws within the system. ADVOs have failed to provide protection for people who have abusive partners. There have been many incidents where the wife was beaten to death even though she had obtained an ADVO against her husband. The law has subsequently responded by enforcing new domestic violence laws. The Daily Telegraph article from May 2008 stated that under these new proposed laws, those accused of domestic violence would only have one week to plead guilty. These new laws aimed to improve resource efficiency by removing delays that may occur during court cases, thus making the process less traumatic for the victims

In 2002 the Federal Government established the National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault with funding of $16.1 million. On top of that there is a $50 million funding for the Partnership Against Domestic Violence.

Although the changes have been positive and have increased the protection of women, there is still criticism at the legal system. People complain that the law is slow to react, and it only does so because of public outcry and social pressure. It is argued that there is a lack of initiative in the government to make more changes to protect the women before something happens. Domestic violence is still a serious problem in Australian society. Traditionally, the victims of most abuse have been women and children. Even though there has been much legislative support for reducing violence towards women, the threat of violence towards women is still high, greater in their own homes than elsewhere. There is an inherent gender bias within the legal system, which decreases its effectiveness when dealing with issues related to women. It is believed that law has been created by males and to a large degree; excludes women and their experiences.

A 2009 study by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics reports that cases of women charged with abuse of male partners have increased by 159% over the past eight years.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ White, Cassie. 2009-06-22. "Domestic violence: Women abusers on the rise"URL accessed 2009-07-02