Domestic Violence Perspective of Intervention Orders and Family

Safety FrameworkJac Taylor

Women’s Safety Contact OfficerSouthern Adelaide Domestic Violence Service

Intervention Order LegislationWomen’s Domestic Violence Services were strong

advocates to reform the legislation New legislation is a significant improvement on previous

Domestic Violence Act 1994In particular, we welcome the State Government’s

recognition in law that perpetrators of violence should be held accountable for their use of violence:Right for women and children to stay in their own homeRequirement for defendant to attend an intervention programRequirement for defendant to demonstrate the protected

person(s) no longer requires legal protection (and must wait at least 12 months)

Women can no longer be charged with aid and abet if they are the only protected person on the order (but still can if bail conditions in place)

Better protection for women/childrenIncreased police powers enabling quicker responses:

Issuance of an interim intervention order if defendant is present or in custody

Order that defendant vacates property immediatelyRequire defendant to remain in a particular place to

allow order to be prepared and served, and detain him if they have grounds that he will not stay as directed (maximum of 2 hours, can be extended by court)

Following service of an order, he can be detained for up to 6 hours if they have grounds to believe he will commission an act of abuse (court can extend to 24 hours)

Power to search for weapons required to be surrendered under the terms of the order, including entering premises to take possession of these, using reasonable force

Expansion of definition of abuseThe definition of abuse has been expanded to

include physical injury, psychological/emotional harm, unreasonable and non-consensual denial of financial, social or personal autonomy, and property damage

However, DV services are noticing that for women who are experiencing psychological/economic abuse, the police may not be able to support their application for an intervention order

This means women in this situation have to apply directly to the courts themselves and pay costs (may need a lawyer to represent them and no legal aid available)

Staying homeLeading cause of homelessness for women and

children is domestic violenceTherefore, the new legislation is an important

step in addressing thisDefendant can be prohibited from the home

regardless of his legal entitlement in the property

At confirmation of the order, the Magistrate can issue a Tenancy Order transferring the lease solely into the woman’s name (subject to her being able to meet the tenancy obligations)

However, women being supported by DV Services do not seem to be accessing these

Staying Home (cont)Locks can be changed and security upgraded

Staying Home, Staying Safe Program through Victim Support Service

If staying in the home is not a safe option, an order can be made to require the return of her property

It may not be safe to remain in the home despite an Intervention Order and security upgrade

She may not be able to afford to stay in the home once he has been removed (she is then required to pay rent/mortgage in full)

Better protection for childrenIntent of legislation to provide better protection to children

who are exposed to domestic violenceChildren can be included as protected persons – where this

happens and the order states no contact, the defendant cannot see the children unless there are family law orders in place allowing this

This means if a child is taken by a defendant, police can act to retrieve the child (this is a much quicker response than the mother having to seek a recovery order in the family law courts)

However, DV Services are noticing that it can be very difficult for women to have their children included as judicial responses seem to vary considerably

Too often, women are advised that this legislation is not designed to address children’s issues, and referred to the family law courts

Intervention Orders Response Model

Aim: to enhance the safety of women and children

For male defendantsAbuse Prevention Program (APP) – run by

Courts Administration Authority (CAA) – for assessment and case management

Domestic Violence Perpetrator Program (DVPP) – 26 week group for men to address their use of violence, run by Department of Correctional Services

For female protected personsWomen’s Safety Contact Program (WSCP) –

run by Women’s Domestic Violence Services – support for female (former) partners of men on DVPP

Abuse Prevention ProgramAs a term of the order, the defendant can be

required to make contact with the Intervention Program Manager (at CAA) to make an appointment for an assessment, and if deemed eligible, participate in the Abuse Prevention Program

Three stages to this:Stage 1 – Eligibility Assessment (conducted by

CAA) – defendant must make contact within 2 daysStage 2 – Referral to the DVPP (group behaviour

change program)Stage 3 – Monitoring and reporting to court on

compliance (CAA)

Domestic Violence Perpetrator Program26 week group program based on Moral Reconation TherapyProgram content only available to those who have done the

accredited trainingBased on a work book and homework requiredParticipants need to possess literacy skillsIntake is continuous, participants can join at any time subject to

a place being availableGroups currently run in city, Noarlunga and Elizabeth (evening

groups in city)Participants must attend each week:

Miss three consecutive sessions – reported to CAA and may be breached (and terminated from program)

Miss four sessions overall – reported to CAA and may be breached (and terminated from program)

Courts can request progress reports Penalty $220 fine (expiation notice)

Women’s Safety Contact Program

Assertive outreach program for female (former) partners of male participants of DVPP

Once defendant is deemed eligible by CAA and referred to DVPP, Department of Correctional Services (DCS) forward Information Exchange to relevant Women’s Domestic Violence Service in metropolitan area

At point of assessment, defendant is asked for his (former) partner’s contact details and advised she will be contacted and offered support

Women’s Safety Contact Officers (WSCOs) are located in each of the four metropolitan DV services

WSCO contacts woman and offers support – woman’s engagement is voluntary

Focus is on risk and safety of women/children and relies on active engagement between DVPP facilitators and WSCOs

Program for Aboriginal Men

Konar Winmil Yunti provide a 24 week group for Aboriginal men to address their use of violence as an alternative

Based in the city and does not cover outer metropolitan area

Referrals to this program are via community A Women’s Safety Contact Officer – ATSI is

located at Ninko Kurtangga Patpangga to provide support to female (former) partners of these men

Improved court processesRecognition of trauma associated with court

processes:May be able to give evidence by CCTV

However, anecdotally, this is not widely used (screens offered instead)

If defendant is self-representing, he can not directly cross examine woman

For women – court processes often result in secondary traumatisation

While these changes are welcome, it can never be underestimated just how stressful, frightening and disempowering these processes can be

Women’s perspectives:For some women, the new legislation is working wellHowever, women have also voiced their concerns:

Have felt very uncertain about the process (especially where he contests the order)

Have felt very fearful about how the defendant will react on service of the order

Have felt very fearful about the matter proceeding to trial, and requiring them to give evidence

Have felt very fearful that the children will not be included or will be removed from the order

Have felt pressured to apply for family law ordersHave received conflicting information (eg their lawyer

compared to police/prosecutor/Magistrates)Have not understood that terms the order could have included

(eg prohibiting him from the family home, including children on order)

Have not understood the language used (legalistic terms)

Supporting women

To make an application for an Intervention Order, a woman must make a statement to police and this can take hours

For a court application, she is required to attend the hearing – Family Violence Investigation Section (FVIS) of SAPOL also attend these to offer support (in metro area)

Service of order can heighten her level of risk, therefore safety planning is essential

Important that all breaches are reported – this again is time consuming as she needs to attend police station

Woman will receive copies of order if granted and very important she provides copies of these to relevant places (eg children’s school/child care)

When order is granted, defendant is given a response date to present to court – woman does not need to attend this hearing

She can find out what is happening by contacting Magistrates Court Call Centre on 8204 2444 or ring her local FVIS

Additional concerns

Inconsistency in responses – police and courtsLack of community awareness about the new legislation (in

particular what is possible)Women not aware of what they can seek in an order (eg his

removal from the home, tenancy orders, including children on orders, retrieving personal property)

Does the system have the capacity to properly respond to the increased number of intervention orders?

Concerns about negotiations between prosecution and defendant/defendant’s lawyer – to reach agreement, is too much being negotiated away?

Victim’s voice in this process – how is she heard? Frequently hear from women that they don’t know what is happening in criminal justice system

In determining terms of the IO, need to listen to women’s wishes – ensure orders are victim focused

Women may not call police for fear of action being taken against their wishes

Can take significant length of time from application through to confirmation and this causes considerable stress to women, wanting to know that the order is final.

Family Safety Framework (FSF)

Women’s Domestic Violence Services participate in this framework and sit on the Family Safety Meetings (FSM) in each LSA where they are established

Women’s DV Services are strong advocates for the framework – research indicates that information sharing and collaborative intervention lowers risk

Key role – to advocate on behalf of the woman/children (as she is not present)

In designing the Intervention Order Response Model, it was expected that there would be a strong overlap between this and the Family Safety Framework (but in reality numbers of families referred to both have been lower than expected)

Family Safety Framework (cont)WSCO role to act as Women’s Domestic

Violence Service Representative on Family Safety Meetings in their LSAFocus on risk and safetyOne contact point for agencies sharing

informationAssertive outreach to women on WSCP as well

as women on FSFOpportunity to connect with women prior to

next FSM to act on reducing risk more quicklyFSM action can be to request prosecution seek

he is referred to APP

Family Safety Framework - StrengthsVery important initiative that provides a structure

for agencies to get together to share information, assess risk and formulate action plans to reduce risk

Allows various agencies to be alert to risk, and to act accordingly

Plans can include: police and Corrections taking action in relation to perpetrator; schools being notified so safety plans can be put in place for children; women being kept informed of what is happening in relation to perpetrator; women being offered support and accommodation; women’s homes receiving security upgrades, etc

Very significant role in preventing further violence

Family Safety Framework - strengthsFor families at high and imminent risk, it

provides Women's DV services (usually the service supporting these families) with a clear protocol and pathway to accessing information and intervention to reduce risk

As a result of this framework and agencies coming together fortnightly, relationships and networks have developed that enable DV Services to access information/action quickly on behalf of the women/children they are supporting

Educates those not working in DV Services about the dynamics and impacts of domestic violence

Holds agencies to account

Family Safety Framework - challengesOne of its intents is to hold perpetrators more

accountable but as it is limited in how it can inform/influence judicial decision making, in reality this can be difficult to achieve

Focus can be more on the victim than the perpetrator as she is more likely to cooperate with any actions

Women and children fleeing domestic violence often have no choice but to move from one form of emergency accommodation to another, meaning referrals can be transferred from one LSA to another, causing delays in action being taken

Conclusion

Women’s Domestic Violence Services uphold the principle that the perpetrator is fully responsible for his use of violence and should be held accountable

We advocate that domestic violence is everybody’s concern and we must all strive for its elimination

As such, we strongly support both the intervention order legislation and family safety framework but also advocate that more needs to be done to uphold every woman and child’s human right to safety