LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Standing Committee on Social Issues Domestic violence trends and issues in NSW Ordered to be printed 27 August 2012 according to Standing Order 231 Report 46 - August 2012 i LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Domestic violence trends and issues in NSW New South Wales Parliamentary Library cataloguing-in-publication data: New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Council. Standing Committee on Social Issues Domestic violence trends and issues in NSW / Standing Committee on Social Issues. [Sydney, N.S.W.] : the Committee, 2012. – lx,498 p. ; 30 cm. (Report ; no. 46) “August 2012”. ISBN: 9781921286834 Chair: Hon. Niall Blair MLC. Family violence—New South Wales—Prevention. Family violence—Law and legislation—New South Wales. Family violence—Government policy—New South Wales. Restraining orders—New South Wales. Injunctions—New South Wales. Title Blair, Niall. Series: New South Wales. Parliament. Legislative Council. Standing Committee on Social Issues. Report ; no. 46 362.829 (DDC22) ii Report 46 - August 2012 STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL ISSUES How to contact the Committee Members of the Standing Committee on Social Issues can be contacted through the Committee Secretariat. Written correspondence and enquiries should be directed to: The Director Standing Committee on Social Issues Legislative Council Parliament House, Macquarie Street Sydney New South Wales 2000 Internet www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/socialissues Email [email protected] Telephone 02 9230 2412 Facsimile 02 9230 2981 Report 46 - August 2012 iii LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Domestic violence trends and issues in NSW Terms of reference That the Standing Committee on Social Issues inquire into and report on domestic violence trends and issues in New South Wales, and in particular: 1. Strategies to reduce breaches and improve compliance with Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs), including: (a) the use of GPS bracelets (b) whether existing penalties for domestic violence are adequate 2. Early intervention strategies to prevent domestic violence 3. The increase in women being proceeded against by police for domestic violence related assault, and 4. Any other relevant matter. These terms of reference were referred to the Committee by the Hon Pru Goward MP, Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister for Women and were adopted by the Committee on 25 July 2011. iv Report 46 - August 2012 STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL ISSUES Committee membership Hon Niall Blair MLC The Nationals (Chair) Hon Helen Westwood MLC Australian Labor Party (Deputy Chair) Hon Catherine Cusack MLC Liberal Party Hon Greg Donnelly MLC Australian Labor Party Hon Cate Faehrmann MLC The Greens Hon Natasha Maclaren-Jones MLC Liberal Party Committee secretariat Ms Rachel Simpson, Director Ms Merrin Thompson, Principal Council Officer Ms Miriam Cullen, Principal Council Officer Ms Kate Mihaljek, Senior Council Officer Ms Lisa Scheikowski, Council Officers Assistant Ms Shu-fang Wei, Council Officer Report 46 - August 2012 v LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Domestic violence trends and issues in NSW Table of contents Acronyms xv Chair’s foreword xvii Executive summary xix Summary of recommendations xlvii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Terms of reference 1 Conduct of the inquiry 1 Submissions 1 Hearings 1 Site visits 2 Roundtable discussion 2 Overview of the report 3 Chapter 2 What is domestic violence? 5 Definitions 5 Trends in domestic violence in NSW 7 Domestic violence offences 12 Geographical distribution of domestic violence offences 14 Victims of domestic violence 16 Domestic violence offenders 18 Penalties 20 Aboriginal communities 23 Young people and domestic violence 25 Female offenders and domestic violence 26 Gender and domestic violence 28 Specific population groups 31 Older people 32 Young people 33 Aboriginal people 33 Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people 34 People from culturally and linguistically diverse communities 35 People with disability 36 Men 36 Conclusion 37 vi Report 46 - August 2012 STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL ISSUES Chapter 3 A comprehensive new approach to domestic violence in NSW 39 The national context 39 NSW legislative and policy response to domestic violence 40 Legislation 40 Domestic violence policy 41 A comprehensive new approach 45 Review of the Stop the Violence, End the Silence Action Plan 45 NSW Auditor-General’s Report, Responding to Domestic and Family Violence 46 Forthcoming NSW Domestic and Family Violence Framework 49 Chapter 4 Elements of the forthcoming NSW Domestic and Family Violence Framework 55 A common definition 55 Core policy principles 58 A new focus on people’s needs 58 A new focus on outcomes 60 An evidence based approach 62 Evidence based strategies and programs 62 Funding for non government organisations 64 Coordination and integration 66 Governance arrangements 69 Regional coordination 73 Local coordination, including case coordination meetings 76 Information sharing 78 Shared risk assessment framework 82 Case management 84 Service standards 86 Barriers to accessing services 88 Information 88 Barriers to particular groups 89 Chapter 5 Prevention and early intervention 95 Terminology 95 Primary prevention 96 Early intervention 97 Causes of domestic violence 98 Unequal distribution of power and resources between men and women 98 Embedded levels of causality 99 Factors exacerbating violence against women 101 Report 46 - August 2012 vii LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Domestic violence trends and issues in NSW A prevention strategy 105 Strategic direction 105 Elements of a prevention strategy 108 School-based programs 111 Breaking the Silence 114 Workplace-based programs 116 Early intervention 117 Evidence and evaluation 120 Aboriginal communities 122 Screening 125 Evaluation of NSW Health screening program 126 Improvements to current screening program 128 Chapter 6 Services for victims and children 133 Planning for increased demand 133 Accommodation 135 Emergency accommodation 136 Safe houses 141 Start Safely Subsidy 143 Social housing 143 Staying Home Leaving Violence Program 145 Therapeutic interventions 147 The impact of domestic violence on victims and children 147 Counselling services 149 NSW Health counselling services 151 Male victims 154 The tension between domestic violence and child protection interventions 156 Chapter 7 Policing 159 The role of police in domestic violence 159 Key challenges for police 161 Innovations 163 Quality of police responses 165 Consistency of responses 165 Breaches 167 Rural and remote communities 172 Leadership 175 Accountability and quality assurance 178 viii Report 46 - August 2012 STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL ISSUES Training 183 Domestic Violence Liaison Officers 189 NSW Police Force views 193 Domestic Violence Pro-Active Support Services and the ‘Yellow Card’ 196 Specialisation and skilled investigations 200 Vicarious trauma 203 Chapter 8 The increase in police proceedings against women 205 The documented increase in arrests 205 Views of participants supporting the trend 207 Views of those with concerns about the trend 209 Further research 213 Potential strategies 215 NSW Police force views 216 Chapter 9 Apprehended domestic violence orders 221 The apprehended violence order system 221 Community perceptions of the apprehended violence order system 223 Definition of ‘domestic relationship’ in the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence Act) 2007 225 Ensuring adequate protection for people with disabilities 226 The Australian and NSW Law Reform Commissions’ view 228 The Victorian approach 229 Third party applications for apprehended domestic violence orders 231 Issuing apprehended violence orders 234 Higher courts’ authority to amend, revoke and finalise apprehended violence orders 235 Police issued apprehended violence orders 236 Revoking or amending an order 249 Apprehended domestic violence order conditions 250 Unworkable apprehended domestic violence order conditions 251 Improving the effectiveness of apprehended domestic violence order conditions: a tailored approach 256 Chapter 10 Breaches of apprehended domestic violence orders 261 Breaches: an overview 261 ‘Technical’ breaches 262 Attitudes to breaches 264 Report 46 - August 2012 ix LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Domestic violence trends and issues in NSW Consent as a defence to a charge of breaching an apprehended domestic violence order 265 Improving compliance and avoiding breaches 266 GPS as a strategy to reduce breaches and improve compliance with apprehended domestic violence orders 269 Understanding apprehended domestic violence order conditions and consequences of breaches 274 Who ensures that respondents and victims understand orders? 275 Challenges to understanding for particular community groups 276 Methods to improve respondents’ understanding of apprehended domestic violence order conditions 278 Chapter 11 The legal system 285 Access to justice and the court system 285 Regional services 285 Workload of courts and access to justice 287 Judicial education 290 Bench book 295 Court support services for victims 298 Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service 298 Accessibility and expansion of court support services 301 Coordination of court support 304 Legal services for victims 306 Legal Aid 308 Community legal centres 309 Legal advice for specific community groups 310 Family law services 311 Legal services for new migrants 312 Chapter 12 Specialisation in courts 315 Specialist courts 315 Standalone domestic violence courts 315 Specialisation within existing local courts 318 Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model 320 Specialist prosecutors