Community responses to family violence

Charting policy outcomes using novel data sources, text mining & topic modelling January 2020 Social Innovation Research Institute Swinburne University of Technology Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

Project SOPHIA Project team Heading Professor Jane Farmer: Project lead (Social Outcomes Dr Arezou Soltani Panah: Data science lead of Policy: Helpful Associate Professor Anthony McCosker: Intelligence & Analytics) Research design, analysis and lead author Dr Jonathan Kingsley: Project management This project was and analysis commissioned by the Zoe Teh: Research assistant Jasmine Knox: Research assistant Victorian Government, Associate Professor Amir Aryani: Data sourcing Department of Premier For inquiries and Cabinet Contact the Lead Chief Investigator, Professor Jane Farmer ([email protected]) Acknowledgements We pay respects to the traditional custodians of all the lands on which we work, and acknowledge their Elders, past, present and emerging. We would like to recognise the time and commitment of the members of the Project SOPHIA Steering Group. Thanks to Lauren Costello, Director, Outcomes and Evidence, along with Laura Portaro, Georgina Nixey and Sarah Thomas from the Department of Premier and Cabinet for their guidance, input and support. This report is released subject to a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license (License). This means, in summary, that you may reproduce, transmit and distribute the text, provided that you do not do so for commercial purposes, and provided that you attribute the extracted text to the authors of this report. You must not alter, transform or build upon the text in this publication. Your rights under the License are in addition to any fair dealing rights which you have under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). For further terms of the License, please see http:// creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

© Swinburne University of Technology, 2020 ISBN 978-1-925761-22-1 (PDF) Recommended citation McCosker, A., Farmer, J., and Soltani Panah, A. (2020) Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting Policy Outcomes using Novel Data Sources, Text Mining and Topic Modelling. Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.

Community Responses to Family Violence: 2 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology Contents

Executive summary 4 1. Introduction 6 2. Background 7 2.1. Existing research and knowledge gaps 8 2.2. Social media as a source of community responses and attitudes 9 3. Research approach 10 3.1. Steps in the analysis 11 3.2. Working with policy experts 12 4. Findings and analysis 13 4.1. Overview of key findings against the Family Violence Outcomes Framework 13 4.2. Core dimensions of language used in the Royal Commission into Family Violence 16 4.3. Analysis of the public conversation in news and social media 21 4.3.1. What impact did the Royal Commission have on the public conversation? 22 4.3.2. How did news media report on family violence? 24 4.3.3. How does the community respond on social media (Twitter) 26 4.4. Analysis of influence on the public conversation over time 29 4.4.1. Influential events 29 4.4.2. Influential organisations and people 32 5. Discussion 36 5.1. Key findings and analysis 37 5.2. What’s the point and why do this research? 40 5.3. Future research agenda 41 6. Conclusions 43 Appendices 44 Endnotes 50

Social Innovation Research Institute

Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting policy outcomes 3 Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

Executive summary

However, changes to awareness and attitude It has been fve years after policy interventions for complex issues like since the Victorian Royal family violence are notoriously diffcult to demonstrate. Alternative sources of data about Commission into Family public sentiment, prominent topics of discussion Violence. Our research and infuential actors, along with new analysis techniques, offer a way to uncover and shows that although understand ‘the public conversation’ and to there are encouraging ‘watch change happen’. Our analysis of social media and news media signs, public awareness conversations between 2014 and 2018 in and attitudes change response to family violence policy in Victoria, slowly. There is a need Australia, found that: to remain vigilant. 1. The public conversation about family violence has changed in response to the 2015-2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence. In 2014 awareness and talk of systems failure and the need for government action was just emerging. In 2015 and 2016, we saw talk of societal attitudes, policy failures and the need for improved services, often in direct response to the announcements of Royal Commission. By 2017 and into 2018, the role of men (as both perpetrators and victims) became more prominent through social media, along with victim survivor’s points of view.

Community Responses to Family Violence: 4 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

Executive summary

2. 5. Family violence incidents do not provoke While negative attitudes and violence- public attention in the same way that violence supporting statements remain a part of the against women in public places does – an issue public conversation, these statements are that warrants further in-depth exploration. That often called out by others on social media. is, while many have spoken out publicly about And these conversations matter. They should not violence against women in cases like the brutal be ignored or silenced, and offer governments an murder of Eurydice Dixon or in the wake of the opportunity to better understand and address #MeToo movement,1 family violence is still a violence supporting attitudes. more circumspect, diffcult and in many ways hidden public conversation. Policy responses 6. could work to address this issue by tackling this silence more directly. The infuence of community leaders shines through, but not always constructively. 3. Political leaders are the most prominent, but not the only, public fgures associated with Gaining better access to community-wide family violence topics of discussion on Twitter, responses shines a light on the often-hidden some of whom maintain a broad agenda of attitudes, language and experiences of those addressing family violence over time. We also who perpetrate or are affected by family saw, however, that prominent fgures are violence. We see evidence in the public associated with different aspects of family conversation of strong reaction to the tendency violence and multiple entry points to the (including in government and policy) to talk conversation, and some can also be seen to about perpetrators abstractly, as a unifed hijack the conversation for unhelpful purposes. group, and with little detail. While social media can be seen to fll this gap by more explicitly 7. shining a spotlight on men’s actions, news media maintains an often-unhelpful focus on Government can use these research traditional tropes, reporting incidents extreme techniques to adapt policy responses and violence and ignoring the more mundane ways tailor language to more effectively connect men use violence and control in family contexts. with the public. While we use historical Twitter data and news media to show changes to the 4. public conversation in response to family violence policy initiatives, these research When people talk about the impact of family techniques can also help to guide and steer violence on social media, they highlight the government activity on a wider range of public multifaceted nature of abuse and abusive policy and social issues. relationships. This perspective does not come through as strongly in government policy, or in news reporting.

Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting policy outcomes 5 Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

1. Introduction

For public policies to achieve The project was developed in consultation social change, they must increase with a steering group of family violence policy experts convened by the Victorian Government awareness, community engagement Department of Premier and Cabinet. and uptake of information about Computational techniques (including natural the target social issue. language processing using Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modelling) and timeline analysis This project aimed to assess the extent to which – were applied to Royal Commission reports and changes in public awareness and engagement public submissions, Twitter data and news could be detected in response to Victorian media data (Australian media outlets online Family Violence policy. Detecting community- articles, TV and radio reports). wide change in attitudes or awareness over a short time frame (here, 2014–18) is signifcantly Datasets were examined to establish how each challenging. Novel data sources and emerging source addresses family violence in relation to data analytics techniques were used to chart the the 2015–16 Victorian Royal Commission into breadth of public discussion of family violence Family Violence. Insights are provided on: the and chart change over this time period in core language and topic segments through response to the Victorian Government’s Royal which family violence is discussed publicly, and Commission into Family Violence (2015–16). how this has changed over time, and the events, organisations and individuals who could be seen The objectives were to: to infuence the public conversation between a) Analyse social media and news media data January 2014 and December 2018. to provide insights about ‘the public Findings were analysed against relevant conversation’ regarding family violence in the indicators in the Victorian Government’s Family context of violence against women and Violence Outcomes Framework.2 The indicators gender inequality broadly; include: b) Identify and chart any changes to the public • Increased awareness of what constitutes conversation against timelines of key policy family violence; and other events since around 2015. • Increased awareness and understanding This report presents: of the forms and impact of family violence • Analysis of how people speak about family by perpetrators; violence, in relation to which topics, and how • Increased recognition of the impact of family these discussions change over time; violence on victim survivors; • Visual depictions of public engagement with • Increase in victim survivors feeling supported family violence language and topics within and understood; social media and news media, showing • Decreased attitudes that justify, excuse, changes over time against policy, campaign, minimise, hide or shift blame; research and events timelines; and • Increased visible rejection of violence by the • New replicable methodology using social media, public and community leaders. media and news data, for charting community attitudes and discourse over time and against policy timelines.

Community Responses to Family Violence: 6 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

2. Background

The Victorian government reports Ending Family Violence: Victoria’s The language of Plan for Change3, Family Violence family violence Outcomes Framework and The term family violence has been used in Indicators4, the Family Violence policy and research settings since at least Rolling Action Plan 2017–20205 and the 1980s, but is often more commonly referred to in public discourse as domestic other work emerging from the Royal violence. The emphasis placed on family Commission include aspiration to violence through the Victorian government’s increase understanding of terms of reference for the Royal Commission community attitudes towards family into Family Violence in 2015 offers additional opportunity to chart the infuence of this violence and gender equality. language and government policy over time. This is to inform adequate policy response. As we show in this report, the shift in This project addresses a gap in accessing language from domestic violence and evidence of attitudes to family violence through related terms such as intimate partner public conversations and responses to policy violence to family violence has rippled initiatives, from 2014 to 2019. outward from the Royal Commission’s 2015 Applying emergent data analytics techniques submissions, hearings, and 2016 reports, and drawing from novel data sources (social through the news and social media media and news media data), the project aimed responses that followed. to provide insights into how the public conversation has, or has not, changed following the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (2015–2016). The project helps to indicate the potential for government to harness emergent data science techniques and new data sources for evidence-informed policymaking. Using social media (Twitter) and news media (sourced from MIT Media Cloud) data from 2014–18, we identify and chart trends, debates and ‘the public conversation’ surrounding family violence policy events and interventions. The research approach offers different, but complementary insights to survey and government statistics, such as those produced by the National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women survey (NCAS). While Family Violence policy has a much longer timeline, The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (2015-2016) serves as a focal point for data collection and analysis as a signifcant catalyst for public engagement with the issue. Spurred into action by a highly publicised incident involving the death of teenager Luke Batty in 2014 at the hands of his father, and the powerful advocacy of his surviving mother Rosie Batty, the Royal Commission was a catalyst for government policy action and new public investment in addressing family violence.

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2. Background

incorporates domestic violence and family 2.1. Existing research violence, noting the changing language around and knowledge gaps these forms of violence over the lifespan of the survey. It notes that the term family violence In their book on the domestic violence services encompasses violence between intimate movement between 1974 and 2016, Theobald, partners but also includes violence involving Murray and Smart highlight the courage and other family members, such as between siblings infuence of Rosie Batty, who spoke publicly or a parent’s violence against their children. about the need for domestic violence to be We use both domestic violence and family ‘brought out from the shadows and into broad violence to capture this variation in usage. 6 daylight’. Their work, like so much of the Work carried out by ANROWS (Australia’s research addressing domestic violence and National Research Organisation for Women’s violence against women, strives to bring the Safety) has examined the role that news media story, language, experiences and battles plays in shaping public discourses about family surrounding family violence into view. violence and violence against women. ANROWS’s The Royal Commission submissions and report 2016 report Media representations of violence volumes collated and synthesised a wealth against women and their children begins by of information. Volume VII of the Report and pointing to media reporting as a priority area Recommendations presents commissioned for taking action in preventing violence against research drawing on the Victorian Family women.10 Understanding the way media engage Violence Database 2009–2014 to detail with issues of violence against women and prevalence, incidents and impacts on victims, children is a frst step to improving that their experiences of policing, the courts, services engagement as this affects public attitudes and support programs7. Ongoing research into and responses. family violence continues to bring those Research into public discourse regarding experiences into public view. That research domestic or family violence and violence against addresses many aspects of gender inequality women, particularly through news media, has and violence against women, from the causal consistently emphasised problems that can and societal factors, or cultural contexts, to contribute to negative community attitudes. contributing factors such as drugs and alcohol, In their review of research, Sutherland and as they are associated directly or indirectly with colleagues note that the social context in which 8 family violence. males perpetrate violence against women Producing regular reliable evidence of changing is rarely reported, favouring sensationalist community attitudes to signifcant social issues accounts of violent incidents11. Sensationalised is diffcult and costly. The National Community and selective reporting persists, perpetuating Attitudes to Violence against Women Survey myths and misrepresentations, engaging (NCAS), administered by Australia’s National in blame shifting from male perpetrators Research Organisation for Women’s Safety offers to women, and an over-reliance on law a long-running and detailed survey of a key enforcement as expert voice12. In their words, factor underpinning family violence. The most ‘media mirrors society’s confusion about recent NCAS report explains the rationale for violence against women’, and in the process targeting attitudes to violence against women in minimises the harms of rape and family violence terms of the contribution that this evidence can through language use.13 make to preventing violence before it occurs.9 NCAS provides crucial insights into the state of knowledge of violence against women, attitudes toward gender equality and violence against women, as well as bystander action, and social norms, or what people think is expected of them. The survey considers four types of violence: intimate partner violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment and stalking. Using the terminology of intimate partner violence, the NCAS

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2. Background

Social media and text analysis have their own 2.2. Social media as a limitations, and the environment is dynamic and source of community evolving fast. With many popular social media platforms, data access and data sampling can responses and attitudes be diffcult and inconsistent, and the approach relies on platform rules and restrictions which Different to, but complementing, the methods of can change over time. Facebook, for instance, previous studies, we aimed to identify and chart has restricted automated access to public changes in the public conversation, knowledge, page interactions. The data are also non- awareness and attitudes to family violence and standardised, requiring data ‘cleaning’ and violence against women, by studying ‘the public processing, but affording more of a discovery conversation’ using public social media data. model of research. The methods developed in We use Twitter data for its consistency over time, this project aim to maximise the benefts and its publicness, and ease of access. An estimated insights that can be gathered from an integrated 3.5 billion people communicate through social 14 text analytics approach to policy outcomes media, and around 4 million Australians research within a short time-span and at actively use Twitter. While this does not relatively low cost.16 represent all Australian voices, it offers considerable access over time to diverse community perspectives for research purposes. With appropriate research techniques, and an ethical research process, online public discourse offers opportunities for monitoring and analysis that can aid assessment of policy impact and outcomes over time. While surveys have the advantage of establishing targeted population and demographic sampling to allow for generalisations and comparative measurement, social media data can be understood as complementary. While we cannot be assured of a representative demographic among those who post, the analysis addresses a particular gap: access to public discussion and interaction in natural language settings, with precise time measures and geographical reference points embedded as metadata. New computational text analytics techniques, as applied in this study, can fnd patterns in large amounts of text data to augment traditional qualitative methods.15 Statistical text analysis adds a level of objectivity to the quantitative and qualitative content and thematic analysis of social data. While surveys allow for multiple statistical tests and hypothesis testing, they do introduce response bias – the gap between how people respond to survey questions and what they actually think or how they act. By drawing on natural language contexts through social media data, a wide range of perspectives and ways of talking about or debating an issue can be considered and analysed.

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3. Research approach

With the increasing availability The methods developed for this project draw of large online data sets of public, on multiple documents and data sources that address family violence as a public issue. government and service sector Appendix A details data-sets, selection and discussion of social policy issues, sampling, treatment of data, and methods of governments have the opportunity analysis. We compare and contrast the public to develop and test new methods conversation, between January 2014 and December 2018, through: of analysis, using cutting edge • The extensive corpus of Royal Commission computational techniques, to assist submissions and reports: 8 volumes, and in formulating policy and evaluating 105 submissions its outcomes in the community. • Social media data extracted from Twitter: 99,840 Tweets • News media articles from Australian national and regional sources (newspapers and online reports from radio and TV): 11,451 news articles Note: accessing a wider range of sources such as YouTube, Facebook pages/ groups or Reddit – each with distinctive demographics and forms of participation – could extend information about awareness, how family violence is experienced and perhaps even access to cultures/language facilitating perpetration. The integrated analysis of government documents, Twitter data and news media data was chosen to achieve consistent coverage between 2014 and 2018.

What are the sources of data?

Royal Commission Royal Commission Reports Submissions Report and Stratiˆed sample of 105 recommendations out of 838 submissions, (Volume I to VII + 2015: summary report), 2016 – 25 Service organisations – 25 peak bodies, networks and research institutions – 25 local government – 30 Individuals

News Media Twitter Data MEDIA Media Cloud Platform Twitter API Platform Terms “family violence” Terms “family violence” or “domestic violence” or “domestic violence” CLOUD Australian media outlets Australian users (374 sources) From 1 Jan 2014 – From Jan 2014 – Dec 2018 30 Dec 2018

Figure 1. Research datasets and sampling

Community Responses to Family Violence: 10 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

3. Research approach

3.1. Steps in the analysis To discover semantic patterns within the large bodies of text data, natural language processing (NLP) was used to augment qualitative analysis. This involved word frequency analysis using Topic analysis of Royal Pearson Coeffcient Correlation analysis Commission submissions (Pearson’s r), and the topic modelling method and reports to identify Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) (detailed in language ‘frames’ Appendix A). The approach to analysis is informed by established theory in policy analysis, frame analysis and socio-linguistics that addresses the formation of public social issues, and Topic modelling analysis of understands the role of language and Twitter discussion of family communication in ‘framing’ or shaping and and domestic violence contesting the parameters of those issues.17 (Jan 2014 – Dec 2018) Figure 1 summarises data-sets and sampling (for more detail, see Appendix A). Ethics approval was granted by Swinburne University of Technology Human Ethics Committee in March, 2019 (SHR Project 2019/013). A consent waiver in the re-use of Topic modelling analysis public Twitter posts was approved by Ethics of news media articles committee as the study conforms to NHMRC on family and domestic guidelines and section 95A of the Privacy Act violence (Jan 2014 – Dec 2018) 1988 (see Appendix B).

Timeline analysis of Twitter spikes and events

Analysis of the in€uence of people and organisations on Twitter

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3. Research approach

The Steering Group met six times during the 3.2. Working with policy project. Early workshops helped to established experts questions to pursue in the data analysis, and examined the timeline of policy events from A Steering Group, convened by Department 2014. As data were analysed – and explored of Premier & Cabinet, guided the project. through subsequent workshops – the Group It comprised of representatives from: guided understanding of family violence • Respect Victoria (Family Violence Prevention) discourses, gave feedback on fndings and input to aid analysis. • Family Violence Branch Department of Premier and Cabinet, Vic Government • Offce for Women • Family Safety Victoria • Business Insights, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Vic Government

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4. Findings and analysis

The analysis of social media and This section begins with (a) an overview of key news media data reveals the fndings and analysis considered against the Family Violence Outcomes Indicators; followed perspectives of diverse victim by more detailed evidence and analysis, with survivors’ lived experiences, responses (b) analysis of the core dimensions of family of advocates and service sector violence at the time of the Royal Commission, actors, and accounts of the actions (c) analysis of the public conversation in news and social media against the core dimensions of perpetrators, in the context of of the royal commission to examine alignment, a policy and intervention timeline (d) examination of family violence topics in news dominated by the Royal Commission. media and Twitter, looking at change over time, and (e) infuences on the public conversation in relation to key events, infuential organisations and people.

4.1. Overview of key fndings against the Family Violence Outcomes Framework

Table 1. Select Family Violence Outcomes Indicators, key fndings and analysis.

Outcome Key Points and Policy Implications Indicators Increase Findings: The Royal Commission (2015–16) provoked a sharp and awareness of sustained increase in public discussion of family violence in social media what constitutes and news media. family violence Analysis of the Royal Commission documents shows similarities and differences between public submissions and the Commission’s reports. A key difference, repeated in subsequent policy is that the reports tend to abstract or ‘gloss over’ topic areas, particularly men as the main perpetrators and their actions. The sense that there are real-life perpetrators who need to be held accountable can seem obscured. Public submissions (including from victims), in contrast, were clear, graphic and focused regarding perpetrators’ actions and effects on victim survivors. In social media, people discuss family violence using their own terminology (referring more often to ‘abuse’) and increasingly probe the causes and contexts and linked issues like gun violence. In contrast, news media remains tied to a set of standard tropes – tending to portray family violence as extreme, violent and involving policing. Analysis: While attention to what constitutes family violence broadens over time, policy abstractions could serve, unintentionally, to detract from the understanding of perpetrators and the range of their actions. Social media accounts for how family violence is experienced beyond the violent crime reported in news media.

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4. Findings and analysis

Outcome Key Points and Policy Implications Indicators Increase Findings: Social media discussion regularly circumvents the generalised awareness and language of policy to emphasise diverse voices of those with frst-hand understanding of experience, or in advocacy and service provision roles, accounting for the the forms and specifc actions of (mainly) male perpetrators and the gendered context of impact of family family violence and the impacts of violence. The focus on men’s actions and violence by forms of abuse became particularly prominent in 2016, 2017 and 2018. While perpetrators news media shifted to incorporate more lived experience accounts, it tends to perpetuate the stereotype of family violence as public, very physically violent and sensational. Analysis: Contributors to social media could be understood to be flling a gap caused by lack of detail in policy and sensationalised depictions in news media, by offering wide-ranging discussion about the various forms of family violence experienced and their impacts, using day-to-day public language and varying contexts. Access to this evidence can assist policy by reminding about the different ways that family violence manifests and language that covers various forms of violence. This evidence can help to target and inform policy as it evolves. Increase Findings: While there is a sharp increase in public attention to family violence recognition of the from 2015 in both news and social media, on Twitter the conversation often impact of family explores the issue using terminology about different types of abuse (verbal, violence on physical, manipulation, fnancial, bullying). If victims and the public express victim survivors experiences as varied forms of abuse, then next steps in action and campaigns tackling family violence should consider engaging with the characteristics of ‘abuse’ rather than the amorphous idea of family violence. That is, in line with movement in the public conversation, policy might pick up and apply public terminology in future strategy. Analysis: Policy language can respond as the public conversation becomes more sophisticated and nuanced. It can be appropriately tailored toward the terms used by those who are affected. For policy and public interventions, language use that connects with community perspectives is more likely to resonate and cut through. Increase in victim Findings: Although social media is sometimes dismissed as confrontational survivors feeling and negative, in response to family violence policy it offers a new space for supported and shared perspectives, building a supportive community, and sharing material understood and resources, among victim survivors. This action-oriented space can provide a socially supportive online community that can be turned to, even when physical and geographical contexts are isolating or threatening (where there is internet access and social media skills). While news media can offer links to information or services, it rarely or only superfcially, enables a sense of community support. Analysis: For policy purposes, despite the perceived risks in engaging with sensitive social issues via social media, there is evidence to show that victim survivors use social media platforms to engage with information and social support.

Community Responses to Family Violence: 14 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

Outcome Key Points and Policy Implications Indicators Decrease Findings: Charting public responses to family violence through social media attitudes that reveals a great diversity of attitudes and voices. While some question policy justify, excuse, stances on family violence or the validity of victims and gender inequality, the minimise, hide vast majority seek to redress attitudes and actions that justify, excuse, or shift blame minimise, hide or shift blame. ‘Call out culture’ is commonly observed. That is, when individuals, and especially public fgures have made provocative and violence-enabling statements or sought to shift blame, large numbers of social media responses follow, actively aiming to redress negative attitudes. Analysis: It is diffcult to say categorically that attitudes that justify or minimise family violence have decreased. As there is more discussion of these issues, then negative forces are stimulated to speak up – sometimes seeking to generate their own communities. When violence-supportive attitudes are not heard, they are not challenged or changed. Twitter analysis gives access to the full diversity of responses and attitudes, including problematic attitudes as they are expressed publicly. This can be used to inform policy of different stances and offers opportunities to engage with divergent perspectives, seeking at least to identify these perspectives and the contexts from which they emerge. News media analysis suggests that more could be done to present more positive and more contextually-informed stories that do more to explore the ways family violence is experienced and contexts fuelling it. Increase visible Findings: Social media is a mechanism for infuencing public awareness of rejection of and attitudes to family violence. It is used in this way by many public fgures violence by the including prominent politicians, ‘celebrities’, advocates and other community media, public leaders. and community There are different types of infuence at play in relation to family violence. leaders Analysis of social media data in relation to policy and event timelines, showed policy announcements and actions can give sustained longer-term infuence. Controversial and resonant verbal events or provocations are associated with signifcant spikes of public interest (social media posting), more so than violent incidents. There are multiple entry points for publicly discussing family violence, and positive and negative examples are evident. Several politicians and advocates consistently discuss family violence in the context of the need for change and non-tolerance of violence (e.g. Malcolm Turnbull, Dan Andrews). But family violence can be co-opted or hijacked to make political points, for example, in the link between PM Morrison, Sky News and gun violence; or Christian Lobby fgure Lyle Shelton’s attempts to connect family violence with the marriage equality debate. Analysis: Findings highlight consistent rejection of family violence by key infuencers in their efforts to create societal change. However, family violence has also become a resonant symbol of negative social behaviour and as such, is ‘attached’ to topics by some people who are using it to enforce negative points in relation to separate agendas. If governments are to engage with infuencers and social channels of infuence, they should bear in mind that the outcomes of this engagement are indeterminate and not always positively aligned with policy values and goals.

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4. Findings and analysis

The Royal Commission submissions were taken 4.2. Core dimensions as a proxy for an ‘informed public’ – that is, the of language used in the diverse individuals, community sector and services, government and research voices who Royal Commission into have experiences of family violence or work with Family Violence victim survivors or perpetrators. The reports and recommendations can be understood as the What did the public discussion of initial formalisation of those experiences by ‘policy’, providing the framing work for the policy family violence look like at the time responses that followed. of the Royal Commission, and how The analysis revealed similarities and did it change afterwards? differences between submissions and reports To answer this question, the public submissions in the way they segment the core dimensions (2015) and eight volumes of the Report and of family violence. This is used to help inform Recommendations (2016) of the Royal and chart the connections between policy Commission were analysed to establish the core discourse and other spheres of public discourse dimensions framing family violence. Frames are through the analysis social media and news the distinct categories or dimensions through media that follow. which policy problems are established and dealt Figure 2 presents a comparative thematic analysis with. Identifying the key policy frames – which of hierarchical dimensions of family violence as we refer to as dimensions – of family violence presented by the Royal Commission Submissions is useful for understanding how they are taken and Reports. Examples in Table 1 show some up or circumvented in other spheres of language differences and a summary analysis public discourse. of impacts or implications of the disparity.

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4. Findings and analysis

Royal Commission Royal Commission Submissions Reports

Assault Drugs Children Abuse & Children alcohol Men Men Homeless• ness Older Older people people Drugs Incarceration & alcohol SCALD Recovery & survival Mental Experiences health & Impacts Victim Experiences Trauma Survival

Diversity Sexual assault LGBTQI Aboriginal & Torres Women Violence Strait & abuse Disabilities

SCALD Aboriginal & Torres Women Strait Disabilities & gender LGBTQI inequality

Adolescents

Perpetrator Adolescents

Men

Attitudes Attitudes

Gender Risk Causes inequality factors & contexts Socio• Socio• cultural cultural contexts contexts

Law & Law & courts courts Other Other Policing supports supports Policing Governance System Governance Policy Policy Services Services Programs Programs

Solution

Figure 2. Core dimensions, and sub-categories for discussing family violence: comparison between submission and reports

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4. Findings and analysis

Table 1. Core dimensions of family violence, with examples from public submissions (n = 105) and policy reports.

Category Public Submissions Policy Report Analysis examples examples Victim I didn’t understand. I kept There is no doubt that The personal and on blaming myself. There violence against women contextual focused needs to be more and children is deeply language of public information. And it’s not all rooted in power submissions contrasts about the woman. The imbalances that are with abstract, conceptual male needs help too. They reinforced by gender policy reporting. don’t always understand norms and stereotypes. To understand they have why they’re doing it. You Supporting children been listened to, people can’t just help the victim. and young people must are required to ‘decode’ You also have to help the be central to family policy language. person doing it. violence policies. (Anonymous) Perpetrator Men’s violence against Efforts to hold The concept of women is not the result perpetrators to account ‘perpetrators’ is heavily of one single factor, but are grossly inadequate abstracted, where the a complex interaction of Insuffcient attention is public discusses ‘real personal, situational and given to addressing people’, their behaviours socio-cultural factors; perpetrators’ individual and contexts. By heavily particularly in relation risk factors abstracting, the idea of to gender inequality. fnding out why diverse (Local govt) real-life perpetrators act He would threaten to kill as they do, may be lost – himself often. I couldn’t leading away from leave. He wouldn’t let exploration of, and me leave. (Anonymous) action on perpetrators. Causes & It is our belief that family If we are to prevent family Submissions present contexts violence is a signifcant violence, we must change causes in material and cause of homelessness the attitudes and social specifc terms, often on for Aboriginal people and conditions that give rise to the basis of frst-hand or of housing instability. it. There is a need to service-based experience. (Service organisation) implement primary Policy discussion of The work of primary prevention strategies that ‘harmful attitudes’, prevention of violence are designed to dismantle ‘violence-supportive against women is about harmful attitudes attitudes’ and ‘primary changing the attitudes towards women, promote prevention’ seems to and behaviours that lead gender equality and present government to some men abusing encourage respectful ‘talking to itself’ rather power by socially, relationships. than showing that it emotionally or physically … some victims have understands public controlling or being violence-supportive imperatives. violent against women. attitudes ... (Peak body).

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4. Findings and analysis

Category Public Submissions Policy Report Analysis examples examples System The state of the courts … The Victorian Government While the public tends to results in a form of does not have a dedicated point to service failures, ‘postcode justice’ and governance mechanism in highlighting their episodic a system that tends to place to coordinate the interactions with what is serve better those victims system’s efforts to prevent available/ or that people who are not also socially and respond to family are aware of; policy slips disadvantaged in other violence or to enable an into discussions ways. (Peak body) assessment of the assuming a joined-up If you don’t leave your effcacy of current efforts. system, even where it is partner, a lot of the [It] must strengthen critical of system services turn their back innovation in the fragmentation. on you. I was too scared to development and Policy might take the leave. I tried to leave once implementation of family perspective more, of and he broke- One day he violence policy and foster how an individual shot up the house. collaboration between interacts with a service – (Anonymous) different service systems. considering this as a juncture for change/ improvement. Solution Awareness-raising and Too little effort is devoted The language of solutions, encouraging debate and to preventing the often couched as discussion around the occurrence of family recommendations, takes impact of violence in any violence in the frst place, different forms. The public community is central to a and to intervening at the draw on expertise or response. (Service earliest possible experience to ‘suggest’ organisation) opportunity to reduce specifc changes. Policy I think it would be really the risk of violence or reports take an helpful if they offered Out its escalation. authoritative stance to of the Dark on the outside. ‘direct’ recommendations It would show women it’s as a response to problems ok to leave before it’s too or gaps established late. (Anonymous) through the process.

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4. Findings and analysis

Key points, Royal Commission: → Overall, there is considerable discussion of victims’ experiences and impacts and → At the highest, most general level, there was much less discussion about perpetrators. strong agreement in the primary dimensions This focus was established in large part of family violence addressed in both public through the terms of reference for submissions and policy reports. submissions and the structure of the Royal Commission’s hearings. → For both submissions and reports, family violence was predominantly discussed in → Perpetrators are discussed as an abstract relation to a set of common core dimensions: category in policy reports, while public victims and their experiences, perpetrators, submissions are more direct in discussing causes and social, cultural and economic the impact of men’s actions on women. contexts, systems in place (or needed), The lack of attention to the actions, including government programs, services, experiences and voices of male perpetrators policing, courts and policy environment, through the Royal Commission beyond and solutions. positioning them as the problem makes it diffcult to design adequate policy responses. The Royal Commission established a language This is a key fnding of this initial analysis of for discussing family violence publicly, the language of family violence. introducing new topics such as ‘elder abuse’, and bringing together and raising the profle of These disparities could create disconnection personal experiences voiced by ‘victim survivors’. between public and policy and result in the As we show in the following sections, such terms public feeling it has not been listened to, do not fow into the broader public discussion. or a dissonance with public understandings. → Public submissions differed from the ‘Washed-out’ policy descriptions could divert Commission documentation in the material policy into directions that are not public versus ideational language used. priorities or do not resonate. Including the Submissions emphasised the specifc, language of the public, giving examples and contextual, personal or interpersonal showing how policy could be directed at dimensions of family violence. The Royal example issues raised by the public might Commission’s summation presented help to ‘bridge’ policy and public discourses. aggregate or abstracted experiences and conceptual or system-oriented dimensions. Specifcally, public submissions differed most obviously from policy reports in having a greater emphasis on experiences and the impact of family violence from a frst-person or service-oriented perspective (e.g. accounts of assault, abuse, homelessness, incarceration, mental illness, survival and drugs and alcohol misuse). Policy reports provided categorical and summative accounts of aggregated impacts and experiences. In other words, the language of the ‘informed public’ in Royal Commission submission documents, tends to be pointed and direct, often in relation to strength of feeling about varied lived experiences. Policy reports project a gloss, often technical, potentially ‘washed- out’ and abstract account and using government bureaucratic language.

Community Responses to Family Violence: 20 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

→ On Twitter, family violence is addressed 4.3. Analysis of the through a very diverse and changing series public conversation in of topics. While it is not as prominent as other social media platforms in Australia, Twitter news and social media enables diverse, active public participation in a way that news media does not. It is How does the community respond to the issue of highly responsive to public mood and family violence between 2014 and 2018? To answer changing issues. this question, we examined news media and Twitter responses, charting the topics and language of the → News media topics tend to consistently public engagement with family violence between follow repeated genres or story tropes – January 2014 and December 2018. stereotypically exemplifed by a story of sensational violent crime (by a man) Topic modelling analysis techniques identifes perpetrated on a vulnerable (female) victim, semantic clusters or topic patterns amongst all involving police. Signifcantly, patterns of the tweets and news articles. Figures 3 and 4 observed on Twitter contrasts with the visualise the fndings of this analysis, showing repetition of themes and styles of reporting the clusters of topics within discussions family shown in the news media analysis. There, violence for each separate year. Coloured blocks articles addressing family violence tend represent a cluster of news articles or Tweets towards persistent patterned genres and that deal with semantically similar topics, with tropes reporting on extreme violence, policing the most prominent topics at the top of each and crime, or celebrity and sports stars’ column. Coloured ribbons indicate continuity actions (Figure 3), often sensationalising of those topics between years, or discontinuity family violence. where there are no ribbon connections. The analysis in sub-sections 4.3.1, 4.3.2 and → For government, policy development and 4.3.3 presents key observations, providing evaluation, social media analysis offers a insights into the scope of public awareness of way to track the topics that citizens are family violence, attitudes and points of view, aligning/linking to family violence, over time. change over time, and the relationship between Twitter is a useful resource for understanding public responses and the Royal Commission. and monitoring the changing public conversation and language, and Key points, overview of public understanding the range of perspectives on topics. It offers a diverse range of public conversations: voices, and aids in monitoring responses and new topics that people relate to policy issues. → Public discussion of family violence increases from 2014 to 2018 in news and → Traditional media, by contrast, tends to be social media (4.3.2, 4.3.3). It is highly likely more static, ‘conservative’, and slow moving that this increase in public discussion in its coverage of social issues, directing and awareness of family violence was public thinking along more traditional lines. triggered by the events that led to the There could be scope for working with news Royal Commission and the events and media to partner on introducing novel interventions that followed. approaches to discussing family violence that are more aligned with the policy goals → Both news media and social media of changing harmful attitudes. conversations align broadly with the core dimensions of family violence drawn from the Royal Commission analysis (4.2). This shows that the Royal Commission and subsequent policy interventions have had a signifcant impact on the public conversation. That conversation, however, also responds to other events and infuences (4.4), and plays out differently in news and social media.

Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting policy outcomes 21 Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

4.3.1. What impact did the The results of topic modelling for both news media and Twitter, detailed in the following Royal Commission have on the sections, were considered in relation to the core public conversation? dimensions of family violence developed through our analysis of the Royal Commission documents. Figures 3 and 4 chart the volume of articles or tweets that could be associated with those fve core dimensions. This tells us, as a starting point, whether the Royal Commission had an impact on the public conversation.

News media topics mapped Twitter topics mapped against Royal Commission against Royal Commission

Totals between 2014 and 2018 Totals between 2014 and 2018

3k 30k 2k 20k 1k 10k 0 0 Causes & System Perpetrator Solutions Victim Causes & System Perpetrator Solutions Victim contexts contexts

Totals per year Totals per year

50k 25k

40k 20k

30k 15k

20k 10k

10k 5k

0 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Figure 3. The volume of news media articles associated with Figure 4. The volume of Twitter posts associated with core core dimensions of family violence drawn from submissions dimensions of family violence drawn from submissions and and reports for the Royal Commission into Family Violence, reports for the Royal Commission into Family Violence, per year per year

Community Responses to Family Violence: 22 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

Key points, connection to the → In 2017 there was less explicit focus on solutions in the Twitter conversations, Royal Commission but within the extensive discussion of → The public conversation aligns with the core social contexts, male perpetrators, survival dimensions of family violence identifed in stories and programs and services, there the Royal Commission documents (Figures were associated accounts of ‘what needs 5 and 6). By aggregating all topics discussed to be done’ (see 4.1.3). Similarly, solutions through news and social media, our analysis were not the focus of news articles in 2015, shows all core dimensions of family violence with the Royal Commission underway, and established through the Royal Commission before fndings and recommendations were are covered in the public conversation released (4.1.2). throughout 2014–2018, with concentrated → The focus is more frmly on victims and attention to different dimensions at different perpetrators in 2015 for news and 2017 points in time. This is evidence that these core for Twitter. As we show in the following dimensions, and the major policy sub-sections, the most signifcant interventions from which they emerged, both differences lie in how each address topics refect and shape the public conversation associated with victims and perpetrators. about family violence.

→ The proportion of news articles related to causes increases in 2018. This suggests the development of more sophisticated framing of family violence in recent years (see 4.1.2). By contrast, on Twitter, there was a strong focus on causes from 2014, as people discussed and debated cultures of violence and community attitudes, the social contexts of family violence, ongoing prevalence and related issues like gun violence (section 4.1.3).

Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting policy outcomes 23 Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

4.3.2. How did news media report on family violence?

Support News media engagement services

with family violence: Topic modelling by year, 2014 to 2018

Extreme violent incidents

Crime stats & policing

Cultural texts & DV

Victims’ Extreme perspectives violent incidents Support services Attitudes to Extreme violence violent Support services against incidents Victims’ women perspectives Courts & policing Men’s violent Govt. actions priorities

Govt. Governance & Health action FV policy Social records & DV context Extreme violent Men’s actions incidents (politicians) Crime stats & Political Sports stars policing positions & DV Violent incidents Sports stars Attitudes towards Celebrity Govt. Child abuse & women protection & DV stories of DV priorities Crime rates & Govt. budget contexts Social Victims’ perspectives disadvantage priorities Celebrity Sports stars Sports stars & DV Political & DV Govt priorities Crime stories of DV positions stats & Victims’ Men’s actions policing Social context Advocacy Causes perspectives 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Topic

Causes & contexts System Perpetrator Solutions Victim Attitudes towards Crime stats & policing Extreme violent Support services Advocacy women incidents Courts & policing Celebrity stories of DV Attitudes to Men’s actions violence against Governance & FV policy Child abuse & women Men’s actions protection Government action (politicians) Causes Cultural texts & DV Government priorities Men’s violent Victims’ perspectives Crime rates Government budget actions & contexts priorities Sports stars & DV Social context Health records & DV Violent incidents Social disadvantage Political positions

Figure 5. Topics of discussion of family violence, news media 2014–2018

Community Responses to Family Violence: 24 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

Key points,news media topics: → Sports, celebrities and public fgures’ family violence actions and attitudes to women are → The number of news articles dealing with a dominant theme. A large proportion of news family violence and domestic violence, is sports focused, and news of male sports began from a low base in 2014 as public stars’ violence against intimate partners or attention started to turn toward these other women is a consistent topic. As with issues with the announcement of the sensational stories of extreme violence, Royal Commission. celebrity stories also distance or make family violence seem ‘exotic’. The focus remains → Victims’ perspectives emerge in news more on violence against women than family articles in 2014, appear more prominently violence, and where sports stars or celebrities in 2015 and 2016, but then recede into the are involved, there is a greater degree of background again from 2017. It appears that ‘publicness’ about these actions. the #MeToo movement throughout 2017 and 2018 did not have a direct impact on news However, there is potential for governments articles regarding family violence. From 2016, to leverage this, to reach men through and mainly through topics dealing with social sport and the advocacy of sports stars, contexts and causes, news stories did begin as exemplifed at the end of this article to explore the wider experience of victims of discussing a family violence tribute round family violence rather than purely of the Victorian Football League: sensationalising individual victims. However, extreme violence persists as a topic of focus. ‘Sunday was also the Vicki Cleary Day, a → Extreme violence is presented as a tribute to Coburg VFA player and coach Phil persistent and dominant frame of news Cleary’s sister and other women impacted by reporting of family violence. These articles family violence. A minute’s silence was held are so patterned that the format changes before the game. “We have to take the little from one to another, establishing a scene message to men and where better than in of violent action by a man in a particular popular culture and football clubs,” Cleary location, and often with a particular ethnicity said.’ (Herald Sun 02/05/2017) or cultural background highlighted, and the effect of the violence on a woman or child. → Coverage and discussion of support services for family violence victim survivors is one ‘A man who drove his ute into a house and key area of change over time in response to then stabbed his ex-partner’s new lover to the release of the Royal Commission fndings death in a ft of jealous rage told police he in 2016. It becomes a dominant theme in was glad he did it, a court has heard.’ articles in 2017 and 2018, indicating that (Brisbane Times, 23/05/2017) there is scope to change the story from one of extreme violence to recognising the social contexts and informing the public of support There is little to link these articles with services and solutions. broader discussions of causes, contexts and systems or available support services. This kind of news reporting has not changed in response to family violence policy. It perpetuates an idea of family violence as extreme, spectacular, non-familiar. Continuing to ply sensationalised crime/ victim stories could reinforce stereotypes of what family violence is, who it happens to, and where – thus defecting from a wider story of abuse and power imbalances. There remains potential for media organisations to change the story in this regard.

Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting policy outcomes 25 Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

4.3.3. How does the community respond on social media (Twitter)

Gun violence Twitter engagement Violence & with family violence: policing Social Topic modelling by year, context 2014 to 2018 Prevalence

Male perpetrators

Male Men’s perpetrators actions Culture & attitudes

Policy failure

Prevention strategy Services needed Survival & inspiration Community support Advocacy Government action

Law Programs reform & services Causes

Men’s actions

Social determinants Policy failure Advocacy Prevalence & risk

Successful programs Prevalence Abuse experiences Men’s actions

Action needed Men as Legal action victims Advocacy Victims’ Violence justi ed Policing perspectives Politics & governance Government action Services Culture of violence Abuse experiences Causes 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Topic Causes & contexts System Perpetrator Solutions Victim Causes Government action Male perpetrators Action needed Abuse experiences Culture & attitudes Law reform Men’s actions Prevention strategy Advocacy Culture of violence Legal action Violence justied Successful programs Men as victims Gun violence Policing Community support Victims’ perspectives Prevalence Policy failure Survival & inspiration Prevalence & risk Politics & governance Social context Programs & services Social determinants Services Services needed Violence & policing

Figure 6. Topics of discussion of family violence, news media 2014–2018

Community Responses to Family Violence: 26 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

Key points, Twitter topics: A strong ‘call out culture’ followed, where many people publicly challenged the views → The conversation develops across three and associated attitudes to family violence. relatively distinct periods: In 2014 we see While an aim of family violence policy is to emerging issues around policy and legal action decrease and minimise these attitudes, their needed, cultures of violence and family availability to scrutiny through social media violence advocacy. In 2015 and 2016, there is can be better used as a catalyst for a stronger scrutiny of systems, with violence understanding and timely response. When and policing, law reform and policy failure, these attitudes are not heard, they cannot along with cultures and attitudes prominent be understood and changed. in discussions. In 2017 and 2018 we see social Many different aspects of ‘systems failure’ problems and solutions dominate discussions, and policy reform were a prominent focus with men’s actions and victim’s perspectives in 2015–16 in response to the Royal high on the agenda, and social contexts and Commission. And in 2018, gun violence associated issues like gun violence becoming became connected with family violence part of the discussion. discussions. This followed attempts to → Changing topics refect the reactive, and weaken gun ownership laws in Australia. also active properties of social media. While Many took to Twitter to protest and emphasise the volume of Tweets was much lower in 2014, the relationship between guns and family the conversation was already pre-empting the violence. This shows that by 2018 the public 2015 Royal commission, discussing emerging was better informed, and primed to make issues. The response that followed in 2015–16 connections between emerging topics and made demands of system change, and by family violence: 2017–2018, a more sophisticated public discussion paired a range of social issues (like ‘Imagine if all these non-Victorians who are gun violence) with family violence, scrutinising outraged by an ‘African Gang’ dog whistle attitudes and prevention strategies. blown up non event were as outraged about domestic violence, often culminating in → Victims and perpetrators are discussed more murder, perpetrated by white ‘true blue’ directly and pointedly, compared with news Aussie males....#auspol’ (2018) media and Royal Commission (policy) reports, informing and raising awareness about experiences and contexts, using informal language, seeking to understand ‘abuse’ and ‘calling out’ attitudes that justify, excuse, minimise, hide or blame shift. In 2014, LNP Member of Parliament Cory Bernardi used a parliamentary inquiry to justify the violent actions of men in domestic violence incidents:

‘Cory Bernardi tells domestic violence inquiry “Putting a woman in a headlock ‘sometimes justifed’”. http://t.co/IRanF6D9d8 #Auspol #VICpol’.

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4. Findings and analysis

→ Victim’s perspectives and experiences are → Men’s actions are a persistent focus across framed around forms of ‘abuse’, and this the whole period, but become more differs to news media and Royal Commission prominent in 2017 and 2018. This specifc framing. Twitter data shows a tendency attention to men in family violence is toward referring to and conveying women’s accompanied by associated clusters around ‘abuse experiences’ (2014, 2018) and ‘victims’ ‘gun violence’, ‘violence and policing’ and perspectives’ (2016) or ‘survival and ‘culture of violence’, with men’s actions inspiration’ (2017) stories. These stories cover commonly the focus of tweets. As topic or arise from multiple diverse backgrounds, clusters, ‘men’s actions’ and ‘male but are focused on expressing the emotional perpetrators’ are highly varied in the stance and physical impact of family violence and taken and points made. They include violence against women; for example: circulation of and comment on police reports of men’s violent acts, as well as emphasising What I learned from two couples today? need for action - such as encouraging ‘call Verbal abuse is domestic violence on steroids. out culture’ and ‘accepting our responsibility It’s lethal. Love spoken softly generates to make a change’. respect. (2014) Alice Springs Men’s Shed steps up to the plate on #domesticviolence. #IndigenousX Whether you get caught on video or not, #vaw #MentalHealthWeek2015 domestic violence ain’t ok! Even if you’re http://t.co/V9ZclUw3v6. (2015) #JakeTheMuss or #RayRice. (2014)

An Airlie Beach man has avoided a conviction Brave Australian domestic violence survivors being recorded due to the effect it would have share their stories. #domesticviolence on his real estate licence. The 49-year-old on #theredheartcampaign #warriors Monday fronted Proserpine Magistrates #whyistayed #survivors Court for his third time charged with a https://t.co/ZFQ1UT1C63. (2016) domestic violence offence. https://t.co/dDkKqz030S. (2018)

Verbal abuse and emotional abuse are just as → Men’s rights and men as victims emerged bad as physical abuse.?? Memories of abuse as agenda theme in 2017. This provides of any kind lasts forever.?? Will 3 of my friends signs of ‘pushback’ from men arguing against copy and paste this for Domestic Violence ❤ emphasising the gendered nature of family Awareness. ?? (2018) violence and underpinning gender inequality, with more explicit topic clusters emerge in This fnding suggests the role that social 2017 and 2018. media can play in enabling victims’ voices and experiences of abuse to be heard. Government Men are victims of domestic violence also, can better leverage victims’ voices and the more often then not the abuse is language of ‘abuse’ to reshape policy psychological and emotional rather then campaigns and interventions. physical. https://t.co/R2i3S1EHMd. (2017)

@SummersAnne @thereminfan It’s also takes away a talking point from the MRAs [men’s rights advocates], who love to argue that men are a neglected number of victims of “domestic violence”. Because when men are the victims they’re also largely the perpetrators. Sons on fathers or vice versa, brothers, gay partners. Male violence. (2017)

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4. Findings and analysis

4.4. Analysis of 4.4.1. Infuential events A temporal analysis of Twitter activity helps infuence on the public to identify latent or hidden events in relation conversation over time to historical time points. These spikes indicate increases in public attention, allowing us to In this section we look at infuential events characterise the nature of different events through a Twitter timeline analysis, and an and their longevity on the public stage. analysis of ‘key entities’, or the people and Spikes in discussion, particularly around 2015 organisations most prominently associated with and 2016 are explored in Figure 7. The spikes public discussions of family violence issues. provide signals of rising and falling public attention around an issue or event. Applying qualitative analysis to the spikes, it is possible to ‘drill-down’ to identify what is the critical event at the heart of provoking greater attention at particular times. We found that spikes in the timeline of Tweets were associated primarily with policy events and advocacy. Violent incidents do not drive public attention and discussion.

Twitter timeline analysis 2014–2018

Federal Government announces Rosie Batty video Q&A Special public call for end $100m ‘Women’s Safety Package’ on men as to victim blaming victims of domestic violence Royal Commission Waleed Aly Vic Royal Report & video on lack of Commission Recommendations Vic Govt funding & need into Family Vic 10 Year published $572m for action on Violence Domestic Family Family Violence begins Violence Plan Violence package

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Figure 7. Timeline and peaks of Twitter activity addressing family violence by year.

Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting policy outcomes 29 Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

Key points, infuential events: → The spikes showing most sustained attention are those that we refer to as policy events; → Policy announcements, prominent and these affect people, apparently more deeply provocative public fgures, TV events and and lastingly than other incidents and public time-bound awareness campaigns (e.g. provocations. This could be due to a train of White Ribbon) tend to prompt Twitter spikes. initial announcements, followed by discussions of implications and people considering how → Family violence incidents do not cause this will affect them, or their issue of interest. spikes in attention in our Twitter timeline Other peaks are invoked through prominent analysis, or draw public attention in the individuals and television events. same way that violence against women in public places does – an issue that warrants further in-depth exploration. This surprised us 2015, 24 September: ‘Women’s Safety as we considered that violent crimes during Package’ $100 million fund announced by the period (such as the violent murder of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Focus on Eurydice Dixon in 2018) would spark broader strategies to develop ‘respectful relationships’ attention to family violence. Even though they to end violence against women. 2-week are a staple of news reporting, horrifying timespan: “Malcolm Turnbull announces family violence incidents, do not receive the new strategies to tackle domestic violence same kind of public attention unless they http://t.co/HmQp4gWAlw #DV. (2015)” occur in public view – as in the case of the murder of Luke Batty by his father in 2014. Policy responses could work to address this 2016, 13 April: Victorian Labour government issue by tackling this silence more directly. announces $572 million family violence package. The package was designed to deliver → While Luke Batty’s death in 2014 was often 65 of the Royal Commission’s most urgent discussed on Twitter, it did not cause a spike recommendations. Tweets directly following in attention at that time. The advocacy work the Royal Commission fndings welcomed the of his mother, Rosie Batty, by contrast, “roadmap” for changing a culture of violence became a signifcant point of public attention, and discrimination against women and especially during 2015, the year she was against minority groups: “Proud to be a named Australian of the Year. A 2014 Tweet Victorian. It is important we all say no to exemplifes the attention she attracted: “Rosie domestic violence but even better to do Batty, you’re amazing. Family violence can something about it. (2016)”, “I feared a law & touch anyone. System failed you & Luke, & yes order response, but #RCFV recommendations even the perpetrator. Well done @4corners” capture the complexity of #FamilyViolence really well. (2016)”

→ The 2015 July to October timeline of the Royal Commission hearings create a sustained spike, as does the 2016, 26 March – 23 April presentations of the fndings and recommendations of the Royal Commission.

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4. Findings and analysis

→ Public actions of key people and TV events → Recurrent peaks of Twitter activity occur associated with signifcant spikes in Twitter around November 25th each year, aligning activity: with the ‘White Ribbon Day’ awareness campaign of prominent but controversial 2015, 13 May: Waleed Ali, TV personality, charity White Ribbon. While White Ribbon political and social commentator. shut down in 2019, its presence in the timeline, and in the top mentions (following section below), demonstrates the signifcance 2015, 13 May: Rosie Batty campaigner and of coordinated public campaigns, at called for an end to victim blaming in family concentrated times, in shaping or channelling violence debates. communication activity. While timeline analysis presents ways to harness social media to gain attention for 2015, 3 June: Rosie Batty, particularly social change, ‘deeper dives’ into these peaks infuential National Press Club speech and would be required to understand how the video. discussion evolves and sustains over time, and the impact on people and their attitudes/ 2015, 25 November: Television event (2015) behaviour going forward. It prompts the Q&A episode focuses on men as victims of question – what is the role of sustained domestic violence (Q&A Hitting Home high-volume discussion in making attitudinal special). Hitting Home is a Walkley and AACTA (and behavioural) change? award winning documentary series, consisting of two episodes, broadcast on ABC in November 2015. Presenter Sarah Ferguson reported on domestic violence in Australia. The heavy social media engagement with this episode has been the focus of other research work.18 “Watching #QandA special about domestic violence with sirens in the background. Chilling. #HittingHome. (2015)”

2016, 25 November: Labour MP Emma Husar delivers an emotional speech relaying her experiences growing up with family violence.

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4. Findings and analysis

4.4.2. Infuential organisations We would expect to see news organisations as prominent in mentions, as many Tweets are and people circulating, responding to and amplifying certain By extracted ‘top mentions’ (organisations news stories. But some news organisations and individuals) and the topics they are most appear more consistently than others. associated with, from Twitter data, we can gain The people in these lists are those who are a sense of who has attracted the most attention repeatedly associated with family violence over time in relation to public discussion of discussion, whether positively or negatively. family violence. The topics each are associated with vary, and This analysis draws on Twitter data comparing tell us something about how broadly or narrowly 2014, 2016 and 2018 to take a sample of change they are linked to family violence issues. over the 2014–18 time period. The volume of Our fndings are a reminder that some have Twitter attention associated with each topic and managed to hijack family violence discussion person or organisation is illustrated by the size for negative or alternative purposes. of the plot point in Figures 8, 9 and 10. This analysis draws attention to the infuence that different organisations and people have within conversations about family violence, and how this changes from year to year.

People and organisations most mentioned on Twitter 2014 Action needed Legal action Men’s actions Advocacy Government action Violence justied Services Abuse experiences Causes Culture of violence

ABC News

White Ribbon

ABC Q & A

The Today Show

The Age

Phil Rotheld

Tony Abbott

Charlie Pickering

Dan Andrews

Rosie Batty

Figure 8. Top mentions in tweets per topic, 2014

Community Responses to Family Violence: 32 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

People and organisations most mentioned on Twitter 2016 Violence and policing Male perpetrators Policy failure Community support Law reform Successful programmes Social determinants Victim’s perspectives

ABC News

Sydney Morning Herald

The Age

The Conversation

Change.org

Rosie Batty

Dan Andrews

Malcolm Turnbull

Michaelia Cash

Fiona Richardson

Figure 9. Top mentions in tweets per topic, 2016

People and organisations most mentioned on Twitter 2018 Gun violence Prevalence Mens actions Causes Prevention strategy Policy failure Abuse experiences Advocacy Politics and governance

ABC News

Sky News

The Age

Sydney Morning Herald

White Ribbon

Scott Morrison

Dan Andrews

Malcolm Turnbull

Dr Julia Baird

Lyle Shelton

Figure 10. Top mentions in tweets per topic, 2018

Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting policy outcomes 33 Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

Key points, infuential ‘Anne Aly: @ScottMorrisonMP needs a little terrorism 101 before pointing fngers organisations and people: at radical Islam. Yes, violent Jihadism has → Community leaders, and particularly been a predominant aspect of religious political leaders, were highly represented. terror but the biggest threat in Australia Victorian state Premier, Daniel Andrews, is domestic violence.’ is the only individual to achieve a high number of mentions in each year from Lyle Shelton was the managing director 2014 to 2018. Given Premier Andrews’ role of the Australian Christian Lobby between in establishing the Royal Commission in 2013 and 2018. He became both a prominent 2014, and his ongoing advocacy and policy voice and also a target for criticism when work, it is perhaps unsurprising that he is he campaigned against same sex marriage consistently associated with multiple before, during and after the national family violence topics. plebiscite in November 2017. A number of commentators at the time of the vote made Each Prime Minister over the study period – connections between same sex marriage Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott and negative impacts on children, and also Morrison – feature in the top mention list. family violence. However, the topics with which they are associated differ (perhaps in line with political This highlights the salience of the term agendas and statements or actions in relation ‘family violence’ as a symbol that is resonant to family violence policy reform). and sensitive, to be harnessed for good or ill, in discourse. It might be argued that there is → Family violence topics can be hijacked by evidence that family violence has become a prominent public fgures for other goals symbolic topic that can be manipulated for or agendas. Two contentious issues that good or ill. This means that those engaging emerged were the impact of relaxed gun laws with it in social media need to be aware that and ‘radical extremism’ on family violence and their interest is open to misinterpretation. the connection between marriage equality and family violence, and What we see in this initial analysis of infuence is that some commentators engage Prime Minister Scott Morrison (beginning with family violence as part of a sustained 2018), is associated heavily with ‘gun violence’, progressive campaign for social change and ‘men’s actions’, primarily on the basis of (Dan Andrews), while others hijack the his controversial comments about the Muslim discussion of family violence negatively community needing to be more ‘proactive’ and associate it with their political targets. in tackling terrorism, which was connected There is scope for further investigation and with a report on the ‘Role of Domestic Violence analysis along these lines. This type of in Terrorism’.19 PM Morrison was seen by many analysis can help policy makers and agencies to by hijacking debates after terrorist attacks design campaigns effectively, targeting the in New Zealand, and Melbourne’s Bourke most productive public fgures and leaders Street mall in 2018, insisting that Islamic able to amplify and catalyse messages for extremism and terrorism were Australia’s effective outcomes. biggest threat. A strong public backlash followed when Labour MP and counter- terrorism expert Anne Aly, pointed out that the majority of victims of violence in Australia are victims of domestic violence. An example tweet summarises the conversation:

Community Responses to Family Violence: 34 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

4. Findings and analysis

→ News organisations are associated with multiple topics and issues. ABC consistently covered the widest range of topics and issues between 2014 and 2018. As the national broadcaster, the ABC is possibly better placed to address diffcult social issues like family violence, when compared with commercial news organisations. While The Age and Sydney Morning Herald were consistent in their coverage over that time, they were less prominent than ABC News. Sky News appears in 2018 and is associated most heavily with ‘gun violence’, ‘men’s actions’, and ‘abuse experiences’. The ABC’s non-commercial, ‘public education’ role allows it to engage with various aspects of family violence as a trusted commentator, while commercial media organisations are likely to have more reticence in engaging with topics that could backfre on their reputation. → Not for Proft academic media outlet The Conversation was prominent in 2016 at the time of the fndings of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, and most strongly associated with ‘victims’ experiences’. → Family violence campaigner and Australian of the year Rosie Batty was prominent between 2014 and 2016. Other prominent commentators or television personalities are commonly mentioned, including Charlie Pickering who was associated with advocacy and campaigning around family violence.

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5. Discussion

The 2015–16 Royal Commission into Alternative data sources should be seen as Family Violence helped to provoke complementary to survey methods – both take different approaches to sourcing evidence and public debate and inspire community harness different demographics. Social media action. Despite the visibility of the is particularly useful for accessing the ‘authentic Royal Commission and the responses voices’, diverse and rapidly changing priorities, and actions that followed, it is issues and language of ‘the public’. Knowing what the public is discussing and in what ways challenging to measure outcomes in is useful for government in policy development terms of changed attitudes, and policy evaluation. awareness and a better-informed By using emergent data analytics techniques public. The time period is very short of text mining and topic modelling, the study and other than surveys with pre-set reported here successfully charted changes in the public conversation between 2014 and 2018 questions that may receive a limited using Twitter data and MIT Media Cloud as a response (such as the National source of news media data. The study produced Community Attitudes Survey a replicable process for applying text mining and (NCAS)), it is hard to measure computational natural language processing and analysis to chart relationships between policy changes in intangible ideas and and social outcomes. communication, in relation to society In this section we highlight key fndings and as a whole. provide analysis of their potential implications. The potential to use ‘already-generated’ We shaped this section by discussing the three data-sets for assessing policy change is dimensions of insights agreed, in turn: a) the an emergent and popular topic of current core language and topic segments through academic and policy debate. A 2017 report which family violence is discussed publicly, from the Governance Laboratory (GovLab) at and how this has changed 2014–18; b) events New York University established principles associated with spikes in attention; c) the guiding the potential of social media intelligence most infuential public actors and organisations in government.20 GovLab suggests social and associated topics. For each point raised media analysis is useful to policymakers, for we consider ‘insight’ that the fnding provides 1. Situational awareness and response; about ‘the public conversation’ regarding family 2. Knowledge creation and transfer; violence in the context of violence against 3. Public service design and delivery; women and gender inequality broadly. 4. Prediction and forecasting; and 5. Impact assessment and evaluation. The strategies used here are an innovation in evaluating the social outcomes of policy. Lessons can be learned from this project – showing how analysis of alternative data sets can inform policy and suggesting the kinds of evidence and insights that can be found – as well as gaps.

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5. Discussion

5.1. Key fndings and 1. analysis The public conversation about family violence has changed in response to the Awareness and attitude change after policy 2015–2016 Royal Commission into interventions for complex issues like family Family Violence. In 2014 awareness and violence are notoriously diffcult to demonstrate. talk of systems failure and the need for As new sources of public sentiment and government action was just emerging. discussion become available through social In 2015 and 2016, we saw talk of societal media and other data sources, governments attitudes, policy failures and the need for have an opportunity to enhance policy improved services, often in direct response development and evaluation. Alternative data to the announcements of Royal Commission. sources and analysis techniques offer a way By 2017 and into 2018, the role of men to uncover and understand ‘the public (as both perpetrators and victims) became conversation’ and to ‘watch change happen’. more prominent through social media, Reiterating the key fndings set out at the along with victim survivor’s points of view. beginning of this document, our analysis has established that: 2. Family violence incidents do not provoke public attention in the same way that violence against women in public places does – an issue that warrants further in- depth exploration. That is, while many have spoken out publicly about violence against women in cases like the brutal murder of Eurydice Dixon or in the wake of the #MeToo movement24, family violence is still a more circumspect, diffcult and in many ways hidden public conversation. Policy responses could work to address this issue by tackling this silence more directly. 3. Gaining better access to community-wide responses shines a light on the often-hidden attitudes, language and experiences of those who perpetrate or are affected by family violence. We see evidence in the public conversation of strong reaction to the tendency (including in government and policy) to talk about perpetrators abstractly, as a unifed group, and with little detail. While social media can be seen to fll this gap by more explicitly shining a spotlight on men’s actions, news media maintains an often- unhelpful focus on traditional tropes, reporting incidents extreme violence and ignoring the more mundane ways men use violence and control in family contexts.

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5. Discussion

4. The language through which family violence is discussed When people talk about the impact of family violence on social media, they highlight the publicly matters, and multifaceted nature of abuse and abusive changes over time relationships. This perspective does not come through as strongly in government policy, or in news reporting. Taking the Royal Commission documentation as a starting point for the conversation about 5. family violence, the informed public and policy agree on the broad themes in the submissions While negative attitudes and violence- and report and recommendations, but diverge supporting statements remain a part of the in terms of language and perspective. public conversation, these statements are often called out by others on social media. At the more granular level, the language And these conversations matter. They of the informed public – the organisations, should not be ignored or silenced, and researchers, peak bodies, or individuals who offer governments an opportunity to have lived experience of family violence – better understand and address violence tends to be pointed and direct, often in relation supporting attitudes. to strength of feeling about their varied experiences. Government takes these messages 6. and provides a gloss, one size fts all, potentially ‘washed-out’ and abstract presentation and The infuence of community leaders shines response. Such ‘abstraction’ could have multiple through, but not always constructively. effects. It could lead policy in directions that Political leaders are the most prominent, does not resonate effectively with public but not the only, public fgures associated priorities or understandings, and could suggest with family violence topics of discussion on to victims and organisations that their direct Twitter, some of whom maintain a broad experiences and calls for action are not heard. agenda of addressing family violence over time. We also saw, however, that prominent Policy needs to be cognisant that the public talk fgures are associated with different aspects more directly and ground discussion in specifcs of family violence and multiple entry points – and might consider how to build bridges to the conversation, and some can also between policy language and public be seen to hijack the conversation for conversation. Insuffcient engagement with unhelpful purposes. public concerns (and language) could lend to frustration or a sense of exclusion from the 7. reform agenda. This could be where social media plays a helpful role. Social media still Government can use these research provides a very public forum where people techniques to adapt policy responses and can call for action, express their priorities tailor language to more effectively connect and establish shared responses. As a research with the public. While we use historical tool for government, social media can be useful Twitter data and news media to show changes for understanding how diverse individuals and to the public conversation in response to groups talk about family violence so that policy family violence policy initiatives, these makers and campaign leads can use these research techniques can also help to guide words to communicate more effectively with and steer government activity on a wider the public. range of public policy and social issues.

Community Responses to Family Violence: 38 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

5. Discussion

The different composition of the public Events associated with spikes conversation in news media and social media tells us that the mechanisms for public in attention discussion and debate have changed from the Rather than tracing news and social media days of news articles and letters to the editor. against a timeline of policy and signifcant The clamour of voices in response to issues like events, large scale social media data helps family violence can be harnessed for policy to produce its own timeline of activity and insights, development and intervention. attention. Through this data we fnd out what kinds of events, which people, what policy News media uses traditional and persistent announcements or interventions generate frames and genres to cover the core dimensions signifcant public attention. of family violence, persistently foregrounding sensationalising stories generally portraying The assumption that signifcant violent physically violent men and powerless, vulnerable incidents such as those reported often in news women and children. These are often in the media would be the drivers of social media context of policing and crime reporting. News conversations about family violence was not the media stories also cover situations where case. In contrast, the Twitter-generated timeline celebrities or sports stars have perpetrated or showed that policy announcements, are linked with, family violence. These limited provocations by prominent media perspectives on family violence draw attention commentators (both positive as in the advocacy to the issue, but also distance it from the of Rosie Batty, and negative in violence- ordinary, everyday contexts in which family supporting comments by MP Cory Bernardi), violence occurs, and from its gendered and controversial or hard-hitting TV programs attitudinal and power dimensions. about family violence generate the highest and The conversation shows some signs of most sustained interest. movement in news media, with more discussion of the causes and contexts of family violence There is potential for more exploration as in recent years. However, on the whole, those what we can see is what produces spikes. consuming news media will receive persistent We surmise that policy announcements gain stereotypical accounts of extreme violence. sustained discussion as instigators of a wider There is work still to be done in shifting this set of conversations about an issue of social focus among news organisations. signifcance and social change. In these cases, Twitter data shows a much more reactive, other groups take up the issue and post about responsive space of conversation, conveying implications for their organisations or personal multi-dimensional perspectives in ongoing interests. With provocateurs and TV programs, change and movement. While we are told that these appear to stir public sentiment at social media polarises people and issues, moments that are contextually primed – we found a variety of stances evident. This around the time of the Royal Commission makes social media data a useful source for and other policy announcements, for example. understanding the way issues are addressed publicly over time. With sophisticated analysis and modelling, it is possible for governments to understand attitudes and responses to policy both in real time and as they change. Not all demographic segments use Twitter regularly or in relation to social issues like family violence. Nonetheless, the sustained volume of engagement with this and other socially signifcant issues offers important access to a wide range of public attitudes and evidence of this change over time.

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5. Discussion

Infuential public actors 5.2. What’s the point and organisations and and why do this associated topics research?

Social media analysis is useful in exposing key Data analytics techniques and accessibility to infuencers and associated topics. However, sources of social data are evolving quickly and these new structures and tools for gaining it is signifcant that government remains on infuence are double edged, and complex. Our the front foot – to understand the potential and analysis shows that politicians and other public the limitations of these forms of analysis. One fgures can hijack conversations around issues challenge is inherent just simply in the fast- like family violence, or affect the conversation in changing realm of potential and constantly un-helpful and negative ways. Infuence is not evolving access or non-access to various data- easily achieved or sustained over time, and can sets and techniques that are growing in be vulnerable to manipulation. sophistication and potential. It is challenging for the government sector - whose core business Politicians, as prominent individuals gain is policy - to maintain a technical capability that ‘air-time’ for family violence as an issue when is alert to changes and potential in accessing, they talk about it. For others, it is perhaps a analysing and using insights from, alternative combination of their novelty in relation to the data sources. It does, however, seem essential topic, and access to a platform that highlight that government knows what is going on and their voice. Others are prominent due to their can proactively harness ‘for good’, the potential ‘expertise’ – including those with lived of data. Here, we even highlight how innovative experience. Some commentators engage with government could lead in role modelling how family violence as part of a sustained to use ‘data for social good’. progressive campaign for social change (Dan The analysis presented here was achieved Andrews), while others hijack the negativity quickly and cheaply – in the case of news media, of family violence and associate it with their harnessing the free resource MIT Media political targets. This highlights the salience Cloud and, in the case of Twitter, purchasing of the term ‘family violence’ as a symbol that samples of data at relatively low cost. The value is resonant and sensitive, to be harnessed of this research is best explained through the for good or ill, in discourse. fexibility and effciency in analysis. The Regarding organisations, the ABC’s non- methods developed can be applied relatively commercial, ‘public education’ role allows it to quickly to multiple policy areas and social engage with various aspects of family violence outcomes. Using existing data does not require as a trusted commentator, while commercial the time and expense of gathering large media organisations are likely to have more representative population samples as does reticence in engaging with topics that could a national survey, and the focus and parameters affect their reputation. With the entry of Sky of the analysis can be easily shifted to allow News among the infuencers in 2018, it is for more exploratory research. That said, possible again that we see family violence we emphasise again, that analysis of novel, harnessed as a symbol of negative forces that alternative data-sets should be complementary can be aligned with target topics to signal to to social surveys. the public that they should be suspicious. The regular ‘White Ribbon’ campaign in November up to 2019 shows that focusing on a campaign and time can cause peaks in activity.

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5. Discussion

Increasingly, government departments and organisations are turning to commercial social 5.3. Future research monitoring systems to leverage the insights agenda that social media and other online sources offer. Commercial analytics systems like Meltwater The study was limited by its experimental can be used for some of the social and news approach and design, time and resource media monitoring, but are of limited capability constraints. Below we highlight areas requiring in accessing historical data or applying further research: analytical techniques like topic modelling. The • Depth analysis of the ‘peaks’ in Twitter data to process for applying topic modelling as outlined understand how events emerge as catalysing in our Methods (Appendix A) provides a guide to large (or small) responses. This would help to the necessary steps. Commercial analytics understand how government could engage platforms often undertake analysis within a with social media, to promote policy messages. ‘black box’ or closed system in which the parameters are rarely knowable or controllable • Temporal factors such as changes in topic by researchers. This makes their use apparently focus and understandings in response to simple, but limits the potential data science events or incidents are complex. The timeline techniques that can be applied. analysis can be extended, with points examined across each of the years. This adds complexity to the analysis, but deepens insights over a longer time period. A technique called Change Point Analysis (CPA) could be used to extend and formalise the analysis of temporal factors in the longitudinal data. • Deep dives into responses to particular campaigns could be conducted. • Identifying the roles of distinctly different perspectives or voices – i.e. the range of ‘hidden’ infuencers who are tweeting and re-tweeting messages, and their motivations. • Engaging with journalists to experiment with changing the nature and tone of stories. • This study engaged only with news media and Twitter, it could be benefcial to explore and harness other types of data that are associated with other demographics such as Facebook groups/pages, Reddit and Instagram. Always, of course, adhering to strictest ethical and privacy standards as we have done here.

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5. Discussion

There is further theoretical work that can also help to strengthen and focus the analysis. We used ‘frame analysis’ to help guide the approach to understanding the way public discourse establishes an environment of understanding and knowledge around key social and policy issues. Further analysis could explore in more detail the social semiotics, or functional use of language in negotiating specifc topics publicly through social media. Appraisal analysis offers useful tools for understanding the way sentiment is construed through social media exchanges, or within a set of news articles. It is useful to highlight some other analyses that appear to offer potential, but are in fact, potentially limited: Reliable and useful sentiment analysis remains elusive. One of the targets of evaluative analysis of social media as expressions of community attitudes, knowledge and understanding is how best to assess sentiment in complex human expression and interaction. While sentiment analysis is a burgeoning feld in computational linguistics and social science, it remains an elusive method and is rarely successful in providing reliable insights with large natural language datasets. Social network analysis (SNA), community detection and analysis of links and infuence are also possible methods associated with the social media data collected, but require very careful dataset construction and parameter setting to ensure accuracy and validity.

Community Responses to Family Violence: 42 Charting policy outcomes Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

6. Conclusions

Ultimately, it is not possible to show As organisations such as NESTA (UK) and The an incontrovertible, direct causal GovLab (USA) are highlighting internationally, there are emergent new sources of data and relationship between Victorian Family techniques that can aid the policymaking Violence policy and the changes and process. Tapping into the public conversation outcomes in social media and news and using it to inform strategy, has become media that were identifed. We can accepted practice among corporations and civil society organisations. Policymakers needs to however show that discussion of engage with this social change –or not engage family violence increased at their peril? substantially between 2014–18 in both news media and social media. Victorian Family Violence policy may have aligned with growing movements around gender inequality, perhaps particularly ramped up by the #MeToo movement after October 2017.

Community Responses to Family Violence: Charting policy outcomes 43 Social Innovation Swinburne University Research Institute of Technology

Appendices

• Royal Commission submissions: Of the 838 Appendix A: public submissions published on the Royal Data sets, data Commission website, we extracted a stratifed sample of 105 submissions by 25 service processing and organisations, 25 peak bodies, networks and methods of analysis research institutions, 25 local governments, and 30 anonymous individuals. The Integrating a range of sources of public data submissions represent a cross section of input offers signifcant beneft for understanding into the experiences of individual community community responses to public policy and social members, the work of organisations, issues. We targeted the Royal Commission into researchers and local governments in Family Violence documentation – both the addressing family violence in the community. numerous public submissions and the • Royal Commission reports: A summary Report Commission’s fndings and recommendations and seven Findings and Recommendations reports, a longitudinal sample of Twitter data volumes establishing a formal and between 2014 and 2019, and news media institutional baseline for addressing family articles over the same time period. violence through the subsequent work of The research team considered other social government agencies and community services. media data sources, including Reddit, relevant • Social media: A corpus of 99,840 Twitter posts Facebook Pages and dedicated discussion from 2,819 geographically dispersed forums. While Facebook has recently blocked Australian social media users over the fve- researchers from extracting comments from year study period Including a wide range of public Pages, it remains a signifcant site for public voices, reactions and responses. While public discussion on issues such as family not everyone uses social media, in particular violence. Similarly, Reddit and other online Twitter to engage publicly with issues such as forums offer access to extensive public family violence, many do. Importantly, they discussion of social issues. Twitter was chosen sustain a wide and often competing range of primarily for the consistent access it offers to voices, responding in real time to the issues public discussion on social issues over a long and events of the day. period of time. These other sources of online • News media: A set of 11,451 news articles discussion, could supplement the Twitter from Australian national and regional news dataset to deepen the analysis or provide case sources. Presenting public conduits for study focus. information and discourse about the events Analysis of comments on relevant news articles and issues relevant to news consumers. They was also considered. Where they have not been help to frame political and social issue closed or heavily moderated before publication, discussion and offer scrutiny of key issues comments on news items can be used for affecting local and national publics. in-depth case studies, but are less useful for charting longitudinal changes.

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Appendices

Twitter corpus This sampling strategy successfully returned 99,840 tweets from 2,819 geographically (Jan 2014 – Dec 2018) dispersed Australian users over the fve-year A sampling strategy was used to achieve study period. a consistent quantity of appropriate data over Subsequently, LDA was applied to Twitter posts time. The sampling strategy involved limiting for each year. Since LDA is an unsupervised collection to a maximum of 500 tweets per learning model, there is no ground-truth on week. Furthermore, in order to associate our the number of topics, and therefore, it is the query with the estimation of tweet volume on researcher’s responsibility to validate the a weekly basis, the sample was supplemented appropriate number of clusters. For our study, by extracting the ‘Twitter counts endpoint’ which the number of topics identifed for each year returns the total tweet count at each timepoint. is established by model parameter checks. This enables a timeline analysis showing The topic modelling process established a range quantity of tweets beyond the 500 per week of topic options, and these are reviewed by the sample over the study period. research team. Through this process, the most The premium API supports fltering based on coherent and distinct topics are identifed, with location information contained in user profles. the number of topics varying for each year. Twitter determines location by other means as well, including time zone and location wording in profle text. While we did not intend to spatially analyse Tweets for this project, location data of this sort can enable spatial analysis. Tweets collected matched the following criteria: • The term ‘family violence’ or ‘domestic violence’ within the body of the tweet or the embedded link if any • User profle country (within the profle geo-enrichment object) is Australia • Tweet language is set to English • Date range: 01 Jan 2014 to 30 Dec 2018 • Retweets are excluded Retweets were not collected because a re-tweet does not add textual content to the original tweet, while our target was the statements and topics expressed in the original tweet. In other words, our primary aim is topical segmentation of public discussion, rather than social network analysis (SNA), which is concerned with the network structures and detection of community among those tweeting.

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Appendices

News Media corpus New analytical techniques were used in this work alongside traditional content analysis. This (Jan 2014 – Dec 2018) involved using word frequency and word cluster Media Cloud is an open source platform for analysis and natural language processing studying media ecosystems, and is a joint techniques (topic modelling). Innovative project by the MIT Center for Civic Media and methods for visualising insights were developed the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society to communicate trends and patterns in public at Harvard University, jointly funded and conversations in relation to policy initiatives over supported by the Ford Foundation, the Open a long time period (2014-2018). Society Foundations, the John D. and Catherine The following methods of analysis were applied: T. MacArthur Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson • Quantitative and qualitative thematic content Foundation (http://mediacloud.org). The platform analysis of Royal Commission into Family contains a collection of more than 1.1 billion Violence documents. stories imported via their sources’ RSS feeds, • Natural language processing: A combination of with 568,000 stories added to the collection word frequency and clustering (Pearson daily. Sources are managed in a number of correlation coeffcient), and topic modelling national collections to help targeted analysis. (Latent Dirichlet Allocation, or LDA) to discover An API function allows researchers to access semantic patterns within the large bodies of the datasets directly. text gathered through the data collection The meta-data captured via the API for each strategy. article included the source name (media outlet), • Twitter timeline analysis. time and date of the publication. We cleaned the • Top entity (organisations and individuals) media dataset by scraping the body of the identifcation and associated topic analysis articles from provided links, dropped the stories Topic modelling process for both the Twitter with invalid URL links, removed duplicate stories data and news media data involved: that has been published in more than one outlet, and only kept the one that has been published a) Pre-processing data and data cleaning: earliest amongst the rest. including data sampling and pre-modelling testing to ensure tweets were relevant to the LDA topic modelling was also applied to the research question. Topic modelling was also news media corpus, with a hand-annotated used to remove a small number of clustered topic descriptor associated with each cluster, non-relevant tweets and the duplicate or and those topics mapped against the core syndicated news articles; dimensions drawn from the Royal Commission documents. b) Establishing model parameters: selecting the appropriate number of topic clusters so as to ensure coherence within and adequate Methods distinction between; In collaboration with DPC and the project c) Evaluation of the model’s reliability: Steering Group, an iterative approach was taken qualitative coding and inter-coder reliability to inform the design and targets of the research. checks among the four-person team; The research team and Steering Group identifed a set of social data sources that could provide d) Valid interpretation of topics: interpretation consistent insights into the public discussions against research questions, existing about family violence over the fve-year study literature and in relation to topics drawn period, allowing comparisons year by year. from the Royal Commission sources.

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Appendices

Approach to data analysis (schools of thought): Appropriate pre-processing of text collection Drawing on established approaches to policy impact analysis frame analysis and socio-linguistics (See footnote 15), the analysis focused on identifable discursive effects (or discord) between the Royal Commission into Family Violence and public discussion, Adequate selection of model changes over time, and the role of infuential parameters (including topics organisations and individuals in shaping and to be generated) conveying discussion about Family Violence. Topic Modelling is a commonly used technique applied to the analysis of large quantities of text, and allows for the identifcation and development of latent semantic structures Evaluation of the and/or topics underlying large corpus of model’s reliability documents and sources. This technique involves computationally identifying co-occurrences of words in a given text in a systematic and objective way. The core task of topic modelling is to capture the topical structure of a document The process of validly (or a collection of documents) by identifying core interpreting topics topics discussed in the text, and which portions of text correspond to which topics. There is no ground-truth to the number of topics and, therefore, it is the researcher’s responsibility If the dataset is appropriately established, to validate the appropriate number of clusters. and adequate pre-processing and parameter Coherence metrics aid this process, but the selection has been achieved, a number validation step involves researchers’ interpretive of topic clusters can be identifed. Topic judgment. clusters can be understood as an important, We used a combination of word frequency computationally assisted starting point for and clustering (Pearson correlation coeffcient), examining the core dimensions through which and topic modelling (Latent Dirichlet Allocation, the documents or social media data has or LDA) to discover semantic patterns within the addressed an issue like family violence. large bodies of text gathered through the data Topics are clusters of similar words calculated collection strategy. In combination with other on the basis of a measure of similarity and methods, topic modelling can improve effciency difference. A topic model applies a mathematical and accuracy in research involving large framework or statistical weighting to help amounts of language-based data. It can be used discover the balance of topics in a large set also for cleaning unstructured natural language of documents. Topic modelling techniques such data to improve the relevance of the dataset to as LDA simply encode the intuition that written particular research questions. documents cover a limited number of topics, Topic modelling is increasingly applied in clustered around a small number of key words. communication research. Daniel Maier and This technique is useful when the amount of colleagues (2018)21 set out a set of challenges written material is beyond our ability to analyse or steps for ensuring the reliability and validity manually. Topics models help to arrange and of this method. This involves ensuring: analyse large collections of text even when they are unstructured and inconsistent.

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Appendices

Appendix B: Appendix C: Ethical considerations Potential of a

Ethically, working with social media data on data dashboard sensitive topics such as domestic and family Twitter and news media analysis can become violence raised some initial challenges in a day-to-day desktop tool, complementing relation to risks against privacy of social media existing sources about the public mood – users, and the cultural sensitivity of the issue. such as the Community Attitudes Survey – Closely guided by section NS 2.3.10 of the by providing very timely information about the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in evolving conversation. The dashboard could be Human Research (2007),22 we were able to ensure that our research methodology met and a useful evaluation tool for evidence-informed complied with ethical and legal obligations in pilot studies of different ways to raise the protection of the privacy and confdentiality awareness and inform the public, using different of Twitter users. forms of media, that are suggested by the research study reported here. A meeting with members of the ethical board was also held to discuss the primary issue of To facilitate ongoing, synchronous data accessing Tweets from prominent fgures, and exploration ‘deep-dives’ and thus insights and the challenge of featuring posts from prominent analysis, we experimented with development of a simple interactive dashboard using Microsoft fgures without their consent. A consensus was 23 reach in that if prominent fgures were able to PowerBI Desktop . Power BI is a data provide consent in allowing us to publish their visualisation tool and business intelligence tool social media posts (if we wished to do so), that that comes with a large collection of built-in and we take care in not distorting nor changing the third-party visualisation types and reporting underlying purpose and meaning of the post in formats, intended to make it easy for end-users question. In other words, we are able to publish to explore data. and mention their posts if it was in line with their The dashboard design (illustrated in Figure 11) work and advocacy in reducing family violence. incorporates a set of interactive functions to explore the conversation in relation to family violence drawing on Twitter and news media. It allows for insights on: key topics as they change over time, infuencers, popular Twitter hashtags, word frequency, news media coverage, geographical and time analyses. The developed features include:

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Appendices

• Filtering: Different types of data flters, The dashboard has been presented in multiple including spatial/geographical, temporal workshop series and received positive feedback and topic flters are provided to support from domain experts suggests promising use data summarising and subset comparison. of computer-assisted longitudinal analysis of • Topic-driven data exploration: For each year, community responses to family violence. To the Twitter posts and news articles that have been best of our knowledge, the existing social media segmented based on LDA method are shown dashboards only aim at monitoring topic trends (per micro topic). or people, such as Twitter Wall, Tweetstats, and Wefollow. Where a dashboard is able to move • Temporal zoom-in: The dashboard supports from monitoring to analysis, and where it temporal explorations in two different ways. enables exploration of the results of data First, the data statistics such as number analysis, it becomes a more powerful tool for of posts, users, spatial distribution, word generating action on those insights. frequency, etc. can be viewed per year. Second, the timeline summary of major events constructed from Twitter posts over the fve-year period, allows users to slide back and forth to explore those events and associated community responses within different time windows in the history. The granularity of temporal zoom-in for timeline summary is month. • Spatial zoom-in: The dashboard provides the capability of zooming into tweets to explore the location of interest, and to further see the activities of individual users. The granularity of spatial zoom-in is at city level.

Figure 11. Screen shot from the live project Dashboard illustrating dynamic, interactive data access and visualisation

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Endnotes

1 The #MeToo movement is can be understood as a social media campaign drawing attention through millions of interactions to sexual harassment and gendered violence. It was not the target of our analysis, but intersected with family violence discussion through Twitter from the end of 2017 and throughout 2018. This intersection signals a small piece of larger shifts in cultural and social dynamics. See for example: Gill, R., & Orgad, S. (2018). The shifting terrain of sex and power: From the ‘sexualization of culture’ to #MeToo. Sexualities, 21(8), 1313–1324. 2 Department of Premier and Cabinet (2017) Free from violence: Victoria’s strategy to prevent family violence and all forms of violence against women, Victorian Government, Melbourne. 3 Department of Premier and Cabinet (2017) Ending family violence: Victoria’s plan for change, Victorian Government, Melbourne. 4 Department of Premier and Cabinet (2017) Family violence outcomes framework & indicators, Victorian Government, Melbourne. 5 Department of Premier and Cabinet (2017) Family violence rolling action plan 2017–2020, Victorian Government, Melbourne. 6 Theobald, J., Murray, S., & Smart, J. (2017). From the margins to the mainstream: The domestic violence services movement in Victoria, Australia, 1974–2016. Melbourne Univ. Publishing, Melbourne, p. 1. 7 State of Victoria, Royal Commission into Family Violence (2016) Report and recommendations, Vol VII, Parl Paper No 132 (2014–16) 8 See for example: MacGregor, J. C., Oliver, C. L., MacQuarrie, B. J., & Wathen, C. N. (2019). Intimate partner violence and work: A scoping review of published research. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 1524838019881746. Heise, L. L. (1998). Violence against women: An integrated, ecological framework. Violence against women, 4(3), 262-290. Flood, M., & Pease, B. (2009). Factors infuencing attitudes to violence against women. Trauma, violence, & abuse, 10(2), 125-142. 9 Webster, K. (2018). Australians’ attitudes to violence against women and gender equality. Findings from the 2017 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS). ANROWS, Sydney, p. 2. 10 Sutherland, G., McCormack, A., Pirkis, J., Vaughan, C., Dunne-Breen, M., Easteal, P. W., & Holland, K. E. (2016). Media representations of violence against women and their children: Key fndings and future directions. ANROWS, Sydney. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid, p.1–2 13 Ibid, p. 2. 14 Kemp, S. (2019) Digital trends 2019: Every single stat you need to know about the internet. The Next Web. https:// thenextweb.com/contributors/2019/01/30/digital-trends-2019-every-single-stat-you-need-to-know-about-the- internet/. 15 See for example: Subramani, S., & O’Connor, M. (2018). Extracting actionable knowledge from domestic violence discourses on social media. arXiv preprint arXiv:1807.02391. 16 Data was collected over a one-month period, through paid access to the Twitter API historical data. While full API access can cost up to $2,500 per month, this is a fraction of the cost of national surveying. One of the benefts of using topic modelling data analysis techniques is its effciency compared to manually reading and analysing large document-based data sets. Depending on objectives, more time-consuming qualitative analysis of topics to extract fndings and insights is still required. 17 Bacchi, C. (2009). Analysing policy. Pearson Higher Education AU, Frenches Forrest NSW; Vliegenthart, R., & Van Zoonen, L. (2011). Power to the frame: Bringing sociology back to frame analysis. European journal of communication, 26(2), 101-115; Zappavigna, M. (2012). Discourse of Twitter and social media: How we use language to create affliation on the web Continuum, New York. 18 Dragiewicz, M., & Burgess, J. (2016). Domestic violence on #qanda: The “Man” question in live Twitter discussion on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Q&A. Canadian journal of women and the law, 28(1), 211-229 19 Malik, Nikita (2018) ‘The role of domestic violence in terrorism’, Forbes, 11 September. Available at: https://www.forbes. com/sites/nikitamalik/2018/09/11/the-role-of-domestic-violence-in-terrorism/#e1c22a4ea287 20 Verhulst, S. G. and Young, Andrew (2017) The potential of social media intelligence to improve people’s lives: Social media data for good, GovLab, New York. https://datacollaboratives.org/static/fles/social-media-data.pdf. 21 The #MeToo movement is can be understood as a social media campaign drawing attention through millions of interactions to sexual harassment and gendered violence. It was not the target of our analysis, but intersected with family violence discussion through Twitter from the end of 2017 and throughout 2018. This intersection signals a small piece of larger shifts in cultural and social dynamics. See for example: Gill, R., & Orgad, S. (2018). The shifting terrain of sex and power: From the ‘sexualization of culture’ to# MeToo. Sexualities, 21(8), 1313-1324. 22 Maier, D. et al. (2018). Applying LDA topic modeling in communication research: Toward a valid and reliable methodology. Communication Methods and Measures, 12(2–3), 93–118. 23 National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia). (2007). National statement on ethical conduct in human research. National Health and Medical Research Council. 24 PowerBI, https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/desktop/

Community Responses to Family Violence: 50 Charting policy outcomes

Contact for more information For further information about this report, contact: Professor Jane Farmer, [email protected] phone: +61 3 9214 4984 John Street, Hawthorn Victoria 3122 Australia