domestic violence – Michmutters

Tag: domestic violence

Categories
Australia

In the vast region of Timber Creek, domestic violence victims have few places to go

In the vast region of Timber Creek, domestic violence victims have few places to go

In other communities Kathryn Drummond had worked in, domestic violence shelters were a haven for women and children in crisis.

In Timber Creek, where she treated a woman from a nearby community who had been beaten by her partner earlier this year, a terrible thought crossed her mind.

“I started becoming very uncomfortable, knowing there was potential that I may have to return this woman to the environment that I had just gone and picked her up from,” Ms Drummond said.

“I had long conversations with the police about… what is this going to look like? Is this a safe option?”

“And I don’t think it was a safe option.

“It was virtually the only option for her.”

Tasked with keeping vulnerable Indigenous patients safe from harm, Ms Drummond and her team at the Katherine West Health Board clinic in Timber Creek instead find themselves at the coalface of a glaring service gap.

Health worker Kathryn Drummond reads and reads some paperwork in the kitchen of a clinic.
Ms Drummond says health staff have to sit up all night with domestic violence victims.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

In more than a dozen remote communities across the territory, government-funded women’s safe houses provide families with refuge in a jurisdiction with the nation’s worst rates of domestic violence.

But the regional service hub of Timber Creek missed out, leaving vulnerable women in a vast stretch of outback linking Katherine to the East Kimberley hundreds of kilometers from dedicated help.

Overnight safe houses

When Lorraine Jones first began as an Indigenous liaison officer with the local police force in the 1990s, she would deal with domestic violence incidents by day and take the victims into her own home by night.

An Indigenous woman in a police uniform smiles at the camera.
Lorraine Jones began as an Aboriginal community police officer in 1996.(Supplied: Lorraine Jones)

“With all the victims that were coming through from communities, I used to put them up in my house before they got transported out to Katherine, or until they were safe,” the Ngaliwurru and Nungali woman said.

Decades on, her family says little has changed.

On the outskirts of Timber Creek in Myatt — a small Indigenous community skirted by rolling hills and bursts of canary yellow flowers — some of the demountable homes have been turned into overnight safe houses.

Ms Jones’ sister, Deborah, recalls spending anxious nights with victims here.

She worries it exposes younger generations to cycles of violence and places further strains on the small community.

“As a mother, as well, you know, you try and explain to the children who the victim is, where they’ve come from,” she said.

“The kids would ask, question, what are they doing here in their house?

“Plus, they don’t have any food with them. Don’t they have any money, those victims that come to your house.”

Two Indigenous women sit beneath the shade of a red gum tree.
Lorraine and Deborah Jones in the community of Myatt, outside Timber Creek.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Indigenous leader Lorraine Jones stands in front of a house looking concerned.
Lorraine Jones worked as a community liaison officer in the 1990s.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

Several Timber Creek residents the ABC spoke with for this story said they had also resorted to taking women into their own homes.

Locals say the long-standing issue is evidence their calls for more resources continue to fall on deaf ears.

“We’ve been asking for a very long time to get a shelter,” Ms Jones said.

“Not only myself, but during my time in the police force as well.

“We’ve been pushing. We haven’t got any help.”

The small, north-west Northern Territory community of Timber Creek at sunset, seen from above.
Timber Creek sits about three hours driving west of Katherine.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

‘The rest of the day is gone’

Years after Ms Jones took off her police badge, serving members say the domestic violence situation in the Timber Creek region has become worse.

Provisional police statistics show the region’s officers responded to roughly 11 incidents in the 2018/19 financial year.

But that figure more than doubled to about 24 the following year, ballooned to 41 over 2020/21 then dropped slightly to 33 in the most recent period.

The Katherine police station as the sun sets
Superintendent Kirk Pennuto oversees officers in the remote NT from Katherine.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

Superintendent Kirk Pennuto, who oversees police operations from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Western Australian border from Katherine, said the callouts are also generally becoming more serious, with more offenses typically flowing from each incident.

“Most of the communities that are not dissimilar to Timber Creek would have access to a service such as a safe house,” he said.

“Certainly, the statistical data, broadly, would suggest that one would be of value in that region, as it has been — as they are — in other regions.”

A Northern Territory police officer walks down a hallway with bright white lighting.
Superintendent Pennuto says domestic violence incidents in the region have recently increased.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
A bald police officer sits in a blue chair, looking at paperwork.
Superintendent Pennuto says the severity of the incidents is also getting worse.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

The service gap is having a domino effect across the sprawling region.

Police occasionally have to leave the community for entire working days as they escort victims to a shelter three hours away in Katherine.

“From a policing perspective, the moment you get that incident, you can be sure the rest of that day is gone,” the superintendent said.

“A lot of the stuff you would like to be doing in a proactive sense in trying to engage with that community and trying to prevent these things from happening going forward, you tend to just be responding and reacting to these things.”

A motorhome moves along a remote stretch of highway in the NT, with a road sign visible.
The town of Timber Creek sits near the WA/NT border.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

Nurses also embark on the 580 kilometer round trip, and the removal of staff from the area can see outreach services in surrounding outstations and communities be delayed or dumped.

On other occasions, Ms Drummond said, health workers have spent the night sitting up with victims in the clinic until the threat has passed.

“So it tends to be we curl the patient up in our emergency room on one of our stretchers,” she said.

A boab tree next to a police station sign in the remote NT community of Timber Creek.
Timber Creek police sometimes embark on a six-hour round trip to Katherine.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

Millions spent while region goes without

The federal government said it had invested more than $40 million into 16 remote women’s safe houses across the territory over two Indigenous partnership agreements since 2012.

But it said the Northern Territory government chooses where they go.

A spokesman from the NT department tasked with domestic violence prevention said that decision is based on rates of violence, staffing and funding.

They added that Timber Creek receives funding for a domestic violence coordinator in addition to outreach services in Katherine, which are supported by a women’s refuge in Kununurra, hundreds of kilometers away

The local council’s assessment is more blunt.

Senior Victoria Daly Regional Council, Brian Pedwell, says the issue is bounced between tiers of government like a handball.

“You can only write so many letters, you know, to all these ministers, but it doesn’t really hit them in the core,” he said.

Neither Mr Pedwell nor his deputy, Timber Creek resident Shirley Garlett, are sure why Timber Creek never received a shelter.

Indigenous Major Brian Pedwell leans against a glass building looking concerned.
Brian Pedwell says it’s unclear why Timber Creek never received the service.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

The Northern Territory’s domestic violence minister, Kate Worden, herself a domestic violence survivor, says she would build one straight away — if she had more federal funding.

“To all of the women in Timber Creek that require services: yes we will continue to look at it,” she said.

“We will make sure that we continue to talk to the Commonwealth government about making sure the Northern Territory has adequate funding going forward to provide services to women where they need them the most.”

The minister will soon formalize a request for additional Commonwealth funding, an issue thrust into the spotlight following the alleged domestic and family violence deaths of two Indigenous women and an infant in the last month alone.

A spokeswoman for federal Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said all domestic violence funding requests from states and territories would be considered once they are received.

An Indigenous woman in a red headscarf wears a look of concern.
According to Shirley Garlett, locals feel like they are flogging a dead horse.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)

Ms Garlett said in the background of the bureaucracy, a serious problem rages on.

“It’s an issue because we’re losing people,” she said.

“People are dying, committing suicide and we can stop that if we have, you know, if we have the right place. If we have the right structure.”

A drone shot of Timber Creek with a car seen driving along a highway.
The clinic services a large area west of Katherine.(ABC News: Dane Hirst)

.

Categories
Australia

Work on national approach to coercive control to begin at attorneys-general meeting in Melbourne

Sue and Lloyd Clarke speak outside court

State and territory attorneys-general are to meet with federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Friday to debate whether to criminalize coercive control across the nation.

Coercive control — a form of domestic and family violence — refers to patterns of abusive behaviors used by one person to dominate and control another in a relationship, which can leave victims feeling powerless, isolated and a hostage in their own home.

Families of those victims and case workers have welcomed the federal government’s push for a national understanding of the term.

States and territories are at different stages of considering whether to criminalize coercive control in their own jurisdictions.

Mr Dreyfus said Friday’s meeting of the nation’s first law officers in Melbourne would see the first steps towards a nationally consistent approach.

“We know from early research that coercive control is an extremely common feature of abusive relationships, but it is not always well understood across the community,” Mr Dreyfus told the ABC.

“There are some differences [between jurisdictions]which is why reaching agreement — at least at a draft level — on what are national principles to address coercive control, is a really good step forward.”

Queensland and New South Wales have already moved to criminalize coercive control, while Victoria and Tasmania say existing laws cover the offences.

Other states have expressed in-principle support for new laws or a nationally consistent approach.

Mr Dreyfus said having a national consensus would lead to a higher level of understanding and the possibility of remaining jurisdictions criminalizing the behaviours.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus speaks to the media.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus wants a national consistency approach. (AAP: Lukas Coch/File)

“We are hoping that, at [Friday’s] meeting, we are going to be able to approve for release national principles to address coercive control and we think that will help get to a coordinated national approach,” he said.

“It won’t necessarily be that every state will get to criminalizing this behaviour, but if we can get to a much wider understanding in the community of what this is, that will help our ultimate aim of keeping women and children safe.”

National push welcomed by father of domestic violence victim

The move towards a national framework has been welcomed by the father of Hannah Clarke, who was murdered, along with her three children, by her estranged husband.

Lloyd Clarke said he always knew something was wrong, but wasn’t familiar with the term coercive control at the time.

“There were no physical marks but we knew there were mental marks,” Mr Clarke said.

Hannah Clarke with Aaliyah and Laianah at the beach
Hannah Clarke and her children were murdered by her estranged husband in 2020. (Supplied: Lloyd Clarke)

“He was trying to control her mentally. Wanting to know where she was, even asking the children.”

When he was subsequently told this amounted to coercive control, Mr Clarke and his wife, Sue, launched a campaign for Queensland to criminalize the behaviour.

“We thought, ‘Well, we didn’t know about it so there must be a lot of people out there who don’t know about coercive control and we need to educate people on that’,” Mr Clarke told the ABC.

After the Clarke family’s campaign, Queensland committed to criminalizing coercive behavior with a pledge to have laws in place by 2023.

Mr Clarke said he was “ecstatic” to hear that state and territory attorneys-general were willing to work together on the issue.

“It’s another step ahead of our [state-based] campaign and that’s great,” Mr Clarke said.

Coercive control often hard to provide to authorities, counselor says

Kirrilly Salvestro — a domestic violence counselor working in western New South Wales — said a national approach would improve clarity between states.

However, she said, providing evidence of coercive behavior was notoriously difficult, particularly in states that are looking to criminalize and punish the behaviour.

“For example, isolation from friends and family: How do you prove that to authorities?” Ms Salvestro said.

“How do you prove that your partner may have been monitoring your activity unless you have a way to prove that they have been bugging your phone or putting trackers on your vehicles?”

Ms Salvestro — who is deputy chief executive officer of the Linking Communities Network — said it was important for any national definition to reflect the scale of the damage caused.

loading

“In any discussion, we need to make sure that we get it right the first time,” Ms Salvestro said.

“[We need] to include everything that needs to be encompassed and the recognition that children are involved in coercive control as well, all that needs to be included.”

.

Categories
Australia

Homicide detectives probe potential domestic violence link in fatal Ayr house fire

Firefighters stand stand to a burnt-out home

Detectives have launched a homicide investigation after a suspicious house fire in north Queensland claimed a woman’s life.

Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson said detectives believed the fire was deliberately lit.

The 47-year-old woman suffered severe burns and died in hospital after the blaze in the rural town of Ayr on Tuesday morning.

The woman’s partner, a 65-year-old man, remains in a serious condition in the Royal Brisbane Hospital and police have been unable to speak with him.

Police attended the home for a welfare check just hours before the blaze broke out and spoke to the couple.

A police officer and fire fighter stand outside a burnt-out home surrounded by police tape
The burnt-out home was declared a crime scene.(ABC North Qld: Baz Ruddick)

Acting Chief Superintendent Lawson said that interaction was now the subject of an internal police review.

“We don’t want to rule anything out at this stage and we don’t want to speculate — until we actually speak with this male [it] it is difficult for us to establish exactly what the reasoning behind the whole incident was,” he said.

“The man and woman were in a domestic relationship and there was a current domestic violence protection order protecting the 47-year-old female.

“We’re working closely with the staff at the hospital to ensure that as soon as [the man] is able to, he will be speaking with the police.”

Acting Chief Superintendent Lawson said the domestic violence order had been in place since 2018 and did not prohibit the couple from living together.

He said they had lived at the property in Ayr for about a year before the fire and were known to police.

A police officer in uniform stands in front of police signage
Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson in Townsville.(ABC North Qld: Lily Nothling)

He said officers had been called to the property before the fire.

“We received a call for a request for service and we attended the scene,” he said.

“At that stage, police received assistance from the Queensland Ambulance Service to conduct investigations into the matter that was before them, and as a result of that they left both parties at the address.

“It’s not a great result and that’s why we have the Ethical Standards Command and the CCC [Crime and Corruption Commission] overviewing the investigation into that initial interaction with the couple.”

Police have been doorknocking residents in Ayr and have urged anyone with relevant CCTV or dashcam footage to contact them.

“The Queensland Police Service has launched a homicide investigation, codenamed Operation Uniform Turmeric, in relation to this investigation,” Acting Chief Superintendent Lawson said.

“Our investigators will be looking to glean as much information from the community around the couple and what their interactions were with them.”

.

Categories
Australia

Rabia Siddique’s husband, WA doctor Anthony Jenner Bell, charged with domestic violence

Rabia Saddique's husband, WA doctor Anthony Jenner Bell, charged with domestic violence

A magistrate in Fremantle has lifted a suppression order, allowing the reporting of a domestic violence charge against a prominent WA doctor accused of assaulting his wife, human rights lawyer Rabia Siddique.

St John of God doctor Anthony Jenner Bell has pleaded not guilty to the aggravated assault of Ms Siddique in Mount Pleasant.

An interim suppression order was in place until this morning, when Magistrate Adam Hills-Wright lifted it.

The court heard Dr Bell had sought the suppression order to prevent his identity from being reported.

Magistrate Hills-Wright said Dr Bell had stated in an affidavit that the complaint against him was made in the context of a separation.

Dr Bell also stated that reporters had contacted St John of God asking whether his position was under question.

He said his employer was supporting him, but if the matter got into the media, it could lead to him being stood down and he may not be able to see some patients.

Not in interests of justice: magistrate

Magistrate Hills-Wright said Dr Bell was presumed to be innocent.

He said publicity increased the community’s understanding of how the justice system worked, and for a suppression order to be made, the court had to be satisfied there were exceptional circumstances.

While widespread publicity could cause “significant embarrassment”, the court process applied “equally for all”, he said.

Magistrate Hills-Wright said the court was being asked to weigh the potential wider ramifications for patients and institutions.

He told the court suppression was not in the interests of justice.

Dr Bell is scheduled to appear in Perth Magistrates Court next month for a trial allocation date.

.

Categories
Australia

Rabia Saddique’s husband, WA doctor Anthony Jenner Bell, charged with domestic violence

Rabia Saddique's husband, WA doctor Anthony Jenner Bell, charged with domestic violence

A magistrate in Fremantle has lifted a suppression order, allowing the reporting of a domestic violence charge against a prominent WA doctor accused of assaulting his wife, human rights lawyer Rabia Saddique.

St John of God doctor Anthony Jenner Bell has pleaded not guilty to the aggravated assault of Ms Saddique in Mount Pleasant.

An interim suppression order was in place until this morning, when Magistrate Adam Hills-Wright lifted it.

The court heard Dr Bell had sought the suppression order to prevent his identity from being reported.

Magistrate Hills-Wright said Dr Bell had stated in an affidavit that the complaint against him was made in the context of a separation.

Dr Bell also suggested the allegations were “baseless” and said the complainant had expressed a desire to “ruin his life”.

He said his wife had suggested she would do this by using connections with people in the media.

Dr Bell also stated that reporters had contacted St John of God asking whether his position was under question.

He said his employer was supporting him, but if the matter got into the media, it could lead to him being stood down and he may not be able to see some patients.

Not in interests of justice: magistrate

Magistrate Hills-Wright said Dr Bell was presumed to be innocent.

He said publicity increased the community’s understanding of how the justice system worked, and for a suppression order to be made, the court had to be satisfied there were exceptional circumstances.

While widespread publicity could cause “significant embarrassment”, the court process applied “equally for all”, he said.

Magistrate Hills-Wright said the court was being asked to weigh the potential wider ramifications for patients and institutions.

He told the court suppression was not in the interests of justice.

Dr Bell is scheduled to appear in Perth Magistrates Court next month for a trial allocation date.

.

Categories
US

Gabby Petito’s family seeks $50 million from Utah police department for inadequate response to Brian Laundrie’s abuse

Gabby Petito's family seeks $50 million from Utah police department for inadequate response to Brian Laundrie's abuse



CNN
—

The family of Gabby Petito has submitted a $50 million claim against the Moab, Utah, Police Department, arguing the 22-year-old may not have been killed last year by her fiancé if officers had recognized he was the “true primary aggressor” in a domestic dispute about two weeks before her death.

Petito’s parents are seeking $50 million in damages, claiming Moab officers were negligent in failing to investigate Brian Laundrie, 23, and his “self-evidently false claims” and the department was negligent in failing to train officers to investigate domestic violence incidents, according to their notice of claim sent to the department Monday, the first step in initiating a lawsuit against it.

Additionally, Petito’s family claims her killing was caused by the wrongful acts or neglect of the police department and its officers.

Moab officers “failed to recognize the serious danger (Petito) was in and failed to investigate fully and properly,” Brian Stewart, an attorney for the family said Monday in a news conference, referencing the moment Moab police stopped Petito and Laundrie after a witness said he saw them involved in a domestic incident.

“They did not have the training that they needed to recognize the clear signs that were evident that morning: that Gabby was a victim and that she was in serious need of immediate help,” Stewart said.

A Moab city spokesperson declined to comment, saying, “The City does not comment on pending litigation.”

Petito, an aspiring travel influencer, vanished last summer on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie. As a nationwide search ensued, attention also turned to Laundrie, who returned home to Florida and vanished in a nature reserve.

Days into the search for Laundrie, Petito’s body was found in Grand Teton National Forest, and a coroner ruled she died by strangulation. Ella’s Laundrie’s body was found in mid-October in the nature reserve, along with a notebook in which she claimed responsibility for her death. A medical examiner determined he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The notice of claim against Moab police comes months after Petito’s mother and father, along with their respective spouses, sued Laundrie’s family, alleging his parents knew their son had killed Petito and were aware of “the whereabouts of her body.”

At the heart of Petito’s family’s claim is the traffic stop last August, which officers executed after being informed the witness “had seen Brian assault Gabby.”

Police pulled over their vehicle – a white Ford van – after it exceeded the speed limit, abruptly left its lane and struck a curb, according to a police report.

Footage recorded by police body cameras shows Moab police officers talking to Petito and Laundrie, who admitted to having a fight in which Petito said she struck her fiancé first. Officers noticed Petito had cuts on her face and her arm, and she “demonstrated how Brian had violently grabbed her face during their altercation,” telling police Laundrie “gets frustrated with me a lot.”

But Petito also “displayed the classic hallmarks of an abused partner,” the notice says, taking blame for the incident. The officers “did not press further,” the notice says.

According to the family’s claim, a photo taken at the time, which has not been made public, “shows a close-up view of Gabby’s face where blood is smeared on her cheek and left eye, revealing the violent nature of Brian’s attack.”

Laundry told police the couple had been under increasing stress. He has admitted to pushing Petito away from her when she tried to slap him and also to taking her phone from her, claiming he did not have one from her and was afraid that she would leave him. However, later in the interview, he took out his own phone and gave officers his number, the notice says.

Despite the cuts and Laundrie’s inconsistencies, one of the officers said Petito must be booked into jail since, under the domestic violence statutes of Utah, she was considered the primary aggressor and Laundrie the victim.

Both Petito and Laundrie objected, and the officers eventually agreed not to charge Petito as long as she and Laundrie agreed to spend the night apart.

“Roughly two weeks later, Brian brutally murdered Gabby,” the notice says, “leaving her body in the woods of Grand Teton National Forest.”

A review of the Moab Police Department’s handling of the incident by an independent investigator – a captain with the police department in Price, Utah, about 115 miles away – recommended the two officers who responded be placed on probation, saying they made “several unintentional mistakes ” – namely failing to cite anyone for domestic violence, though there appeared to be only sufficient evidence to charge Petito.

The investigative report, released in January, recommended new policies for the department, including additional domestic violence training and legal training for officers.

The city at the time did not address any potential discipline for the two officers but said it “intends to implement the report’s recommendations” on new policies for the police department, including additional domestic violence training and legal training for officers.

“Based on the report’s findings, the City of Moab believes our officers showed kindness, respect and empathy in their handling of this incident,” the city’s statement said.

Petito’s parents and stepparents did not comment on the litigation during Monday’s virtual news conference at the direction of their lawyers. But her mother de ella acknowledged the footage of the Moab incident was “very painful.”

“I wanted to jump through the screen, rescue her,” Nicole Schmidt said, encouraging victims of domestic violence to reach out for help.

Asked what the family wants the public to remember from Petito’s story, her father Joseph Petito, said people should learn there’s always a way out.

“Her legacy is to help people that don’t see a way out, and there are,” he said.

.

Categories
Australia

Calls for ‘significant reforms’ around Queensland police’s handling of domestic violence as explosive inquiry wraps up

Calls for 'significant reforms' around Queensland police's handling of domestic violence as explosive inquiry wraps up

Betty Taylor has been fighting the scourge of domestic violence in Queensland for more than three decades and even she was shocked by the explosive testimonies she heard at an inquiry into police culture.

WARNING: This story contains strong language that some readers may find offensive.

The chief executive of the Red Rose Foundation has been closely following the inquiry into the Queensland Police Service’s (QPS) response to domestic and family violence, which has spanned five weeks and heard from dozens of witnesses, including current and retired police officers.

With Tuesday marking its final day of public hearings, the inquiry has painted a damning picture of police culture and problematic attitudes in the ranks towards domestic violence survivors.

Misogynistic attitudes towards women, policy and procedural failures as well as serious allegations of police inaction to protect domestic violence survivors have all been laid bare.

Ms Taylor said officers’ response to domestic and family violence in Queensland was the worst she’s ever witnessed in her 34 years of advocacy.

“This inquiry is incredibly important. I’ve worked across the domestic violence field for 34 years and … the response by police is the worst it’s ever been,” Ms Taylor said.

“Not even just by police — I think women are getting a rough deal in the community and through the courts.

“Victims have to have confidence in the police. They’ve got to know they can call and… be taken seriously.”

‘Time for really significant reforms’

Ms Taylor said she hoped the inquiry would provide momentum for meaningful change and reform.

“We’ve got women potentially being murdered and police aren’t taking the time to do thorough investigations. It really concerns me,” she said.

“My hope is [that] we really step up and look at what domestic violence really is: one of the worst crimes in our community.

“It’s time to step back and reflect and put in place some really significant reforms.”

Queensland Police Service officers in South Bank
There are calls for ongoing face-to-face domestic violence training for police.(ABC News: Patrick Williams)

Headed by Judge Deborah Richards, the landmark inquiry’s goal is to determine whether cultural issues are negatively impacting how police handle domestic violence cases, as well as the experience of Indigenous domestic violence victims and the way corrupt conduct and complaints against police are dealt with.

A key recommendation of the Women’s Safety and Justice taskforce, the inquiry follows urgent calls for action after several high-profile domestic violence murders, including the deaths of Doreen Langham, Hannah Clarke and her three children.

Among the explosive evidence, one service officer — who cannot be identified for legal reasons — told the inquiry that misogyny “ran wild” within the force as he detailed hearing male colleagues frequently making derogatory remarks about female survivors and avoiding domestic violence incidents altogether.

“Domestic violence is just foreplay”, “she’s too ugly to be raped”, “rape is just surprise sex” and “I can see why he does it to her — if I was in his position, I’d do that,” the officer told the inquiry, recounting comments he had heard made by seasoned male officers.

The officer became emotional as he told the inquiry “the core business in his station was misogyny, dehumanization and negligence.”

‘She’s just blowing hot air’

Retired officer Audra Pollard — who was a coordinator officer in police call centers — told the inquiry she witnessed police deliberately driving away from a suburb to avoid responding to a domestic violence incident.

Ms Pollard said her colleagues would often make derogatory comments about “repeat” domestic violence complainants, saying things like: “Oh — that f**kwit has called again” “That spoon is on the line again”, “Don’t bother sending a crew to that job, she’s just blowing hot air, that sort of thing.”

Two police officers take notes while talking to an unidentified woman.
Officers told the inquiry that misogyny and unconscious bias are major issues throughout the force.(ABC News: Luke Bowden)

The inquiry also heard from Sergeant Paul Trinder, a shift supervisor, who recalled a time where two officers, including a senior constable, downplayed a serious domestic violence incident, despite “clear photographic evidence” of assault and threats made against the victim.

“There was a statement from the aggrieved person that the respondent had threatened to decapitate the family dog ​​in front of her and her children,” Sergeant Trinder told the inquiry.

“That victim had been failed by that officer. There was clear photographic evidence that she had been assaulted, like a punch-sized bruise around her rib cage and so on.

.

Categories
Australia

New Adelaide accommodation for domestic violence victims expected to be full within weeks

Women standing around a bench top looking at each other

Eight new units have been set up in an undisclosed location in Adelaide to help women and children escape domestic violence.

South Australia is the first state to get new upgraded facilities, with other states set to follow suit.

It is a part of a $20 million federal government program to upgrade domestic violence services across the nation.

The Adelaide facility, operated by the Salvation Army, will accommodate approximately 40 people, with on average one adult and four children per property.

Salvation Army general manager of family violence Lorrinda Hamilton said the facility was in high demand.

“We are almost half full and we’ve only been open for two weeks,” she said.

A woman standing with a beige jacket and looking serious
Lorrinda Hamilton says the Salvation Army runs domestic violence refuge facilities across the nation. (abcnews )

“We are expected to be fully occupied within the next week.

“These facilities are critical. The demand for family violence responses outstrips the supply of refuge accommodation.

“It is one of the leading causes of homelessness.”

The site includes recreational facilities and outdoor play areas for children, but in a high-security setting.

DV Shelter Adelaide (1)
Bedroom and living areas have been designed to maximize privacy and safety for parents, while affording them the opportunity to easily supervise their children and ensure their safety. (abcnews )

Ms Hamilton said it was important the location was kept secret.

“It is imperative that we operate in non-disclosed locations, and that’s particularly important when we are working with high-risk family violence, particularly women who might be an imminent risk of death,” she said.

“The majority of people using this facility are from South Australia but there are some women who will be fleeing from interstate who will use this facility.”

A woman with brown curly hair and glasses mid-sentence with everything else around her blurred out
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth says no woman should have to choose between having a home or experiencing violence.(ABC News: Matt Roberts)

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said the federal government fund was “about supporting women and children who are escaping family and domestic violence.”

“Every 10 days, one woman is killed by their former or current partner,” she said.

“This is a really big problem, family and domestic violence in this country.”

.

Categories
Australia

Family and domestic violence is the ‘wicked social problem’ a university course is aiming to address

The silhouette of a woman as she stares out the window while sitting on a bed

Grace* did not know, or perhaps did not want to admit, she was in an abusive relationship until her husband became physically violent.

When he did, it was a catalyst for her to leave, but not right away.

“I even talked police out of laying charges against him in the early stages of it,” said Grace, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.

“I’d put it down to [his] mental health in all honesty, it’s only later after much study that I have a much better understanding that, that was purely an excuse for a lot of it.”

It took a further three years before Grace accessed support services, which for her in Victoria was an organization called The Orange Door.

“I think twice I went and sat in the car outside [The Orange Door] and I went, ‘nah I can’t do it, can’t go in’,” she said, a slight tremble cracking through her otherwise steady voice.

“Just because I couldn’t … I didn’t want to tell my story.

“I didn’t want to be honest about the things that I had put up with and what I’d gone through because in my head I was going, ‘well why didn’t I leave earlier?’

“‘Who would go through that? No-one in their sane mind’ was what my narrative was.”

Shame, fear and dependency

The feeling of shame overwhelming Grace as she sat in her car that day is not uncommon among victim-survivors of family and domestic violence (FDV).

According to a number of professionals who work in the field, it is one of the common misconceptions about FDV that can have far reaching and devastating consequences for those who are already at their most vulnerable.

loading

Michael Flood is an associate professor at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) whose work in the school of justice includes dispelling some of the most common and persistent misconceptions about FDV.

“There are very understandable reasons why women might stay with a partner who is being abusive towards them,” he said.

“Their fear, their commitment to the relationship, their concerns about harm to the children, their lack of alternative sources of housing and income, their dependency, their social isolation, many of which are deliberately engineered by perpetrators.”

A ‘wicked’ social problem

As part of his work in the FDV field, Dr Flood is responsible for QUT’s graduate certificate in domestic violence responses.

When it began in 2016, the online course was the only one of its kind in Australia, but Dr Flood said he knows of at least five other professional qualifications in domestic and family violence now being offered at universities.

Michael Flood wears a purple jumper and a serious expression in an outdoor setting
Associate professor Michael Flood believes cultural change is necessary to prevent domestic violence.(Supplied)

“We’re dealing with a wicked social problem, a complex and pervasive social problem,” he said.

“We need skills and training for the people who will come into contact with that problem.

“Certainly, recent stories from the Queensland Police and elsewhere tell us that police, too, may not be very skilled at responding to these issues.

“I think a key learning from some of the most recent inquiries is that a whole lot more training and education, if not culture change, is necessary in our police services, and in some of the other services that respond or should respond to victim- survivors and perpetrators.”

Police responses questioned

Police responses to FDV have been under an increased — and public — level of scrutiny as of late, especially in Queensland.

The inquest into the murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children at the hands of their father and her estranged husband was followed by another into the killing of Doreen Langham by her ex-partner.

There is also an ongoing inquiry into how Queensland Police respond to FDV matters – all of it highlighting significant areas of concern and leading to calls for more thorough face-to-face, and ongoing training for police across the country.

Hannah Clarke, and her three children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey.
The murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey have led to calls for better police training in handling family violence.(Supplied: AAP/Department of Justice)

A recent government report identified WA as having the highest overall rate of family and domestic violence related assault in the country.

“Este [Hannah Clarke] inquest and other recent reports on family violence are being reviewed for their applicability to WA Police Force policy and practices,” a spokesman for the state’s Police Minister, Paul Papalia, wrote in a statement.

Police jurisdictions across the country are reporting that FDV call outs make up a significant proportion of their work, with many turning to improved officer training to try to better address the issue.

The QUT course, which attracts students from professions including social work, law, psychology, and law enforcement, looks at how disadvantage and privilege contribute to domestic violence and how to respond effectively to it.

Dr Flood said it was a complex issue, and one that was not only about physical violence.

“Domestic violence is as much about a kind of daily dripping tap of abuse, of control and so on, that may not be particularly physical, it may involve only threats of violence or a perpetrator, in very subtle or sneaky ways, reminding the victim of the possibility of them using violence,” he said.

The situation is compounded when children are present.

“We know very well now that whenever there are children in a household where there’s domestic violence, they are deeply affected by that violence, affected just as much by witnessing or being around that violence as if they are being assaulted themselves,” he said.

Dr Flood said about 40 students completed the course each year, about 87 per cent of whom were women.

He would like to see more men enter the FDV response and prevention workforce.

Police officer sees hope

Patrick Hayes has been with Victoria Police for 22 years, becoming a family violence liaison officer two years ago, and is also a facilitator for QUT’s graduate certificate in domestic violence responses.

When it comes to the track record of police in dealing with FDV, Sergeant Hayes holds few punches.

A police officer in uniform standing with one hand on the bonnet of his police car.
Sergeant Patrick Hayes says improvements are being made in the way agencies work together to combat family violence.(Supplied)

“Has there been mistakes made in the past? Absolutely. There’s no denying that at all,” he said.

“What’s encouraging is that we’re recognizing this, and we’ve started to work more collaboratively. We are making headway.”

Restraining order ‘just a piece of paper’

On her third attempt, Grace finally found the courage to get out of her car and enter The Orange Door for support.

She is now working in the area of ​​FDV case management while undertaking the QUT course, which she describes as having “confronting content”.

When it comes to her own experiences and her own trauma, Grace said her journey was ongoing.

A silhouette of an anonymous woman
Grace says she feels let down by the judicial system, which fails to make her feel safe.(Unsplash: Erick Zajac)

After her ex-husband was found guilty of numerous breaches of a violence restraining order, she has now been granted a rare long-lasting order against him, which runs for 40 years.

But she feels the judicial system is letting victim-survivors down.

The consequences faced by her ex-husband for multiple breaches appear to her to be no more than verbal reprimands and ends he will never pay off.

She said the court’s actions had made her feel more unsafe.

“Just by not holding breaching accountable, there’s no deterrent. At the end of the day … it’s just a piece of paper,” Grace said.

Living invisibly

And while Grace rates her own interactions with police as positive overall, there is one aspect she still struggles to come to terms with.

She was told by police she needed to change her phone number, move house and protect her address and her place of work so she would be ‘safe’.

“I think the onus of that needs to be taken away from a victim-survivor and placed at the perpetrator’s feet,” she said.

A blurred, dark photo of a child holding her hand up behind a glass screen.
Garace says survivors should not bear responsibility for the actions of perpetrators.(abcnews)

“It’s not my responsibility to make someone else toe the line or behave responsibly, but that’s exactly what I was told.

“And I did try and live invisibly for a lot of years… it’s not an easy way to recover when you’re trying to be invisible.

“Practically, it’s sound advice — it’s just something I shouldn’t have to do.”

Dr Flood agrees.

“Whether they take place in schools or in sporting context or in the community, we need to shift the attitudes, the behaviours, inequalities that feed into domestic and family violence in the first place,” he said.

.

Categories
Sports

Michael Lichaa acquitted of domestic violence charges

Michael Lichaa pleaded not guilty to assaulting his former partner Kara Childerhouse. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Former NRL star Michael Lichaa has been acquitted of domestic violence charges after his former partner refused to turn up to court and ex-teammate Adam Elliott vouched for his version of events.

The 18-month saga finally drew to a close on Friday when Mr Lichaa was found not guilty of assaulting his former partner Kara Childerhouse during a heated late-night incident at his south Sydney home.

Mr Lichaa, 29, has persistently denied assaulting his former finance and Magistrate Melissa Humphreys on Friday acquitted him of common assault and intimidation charges.

Michael Lichaa (centre). Picture: NewsWire/Seb Haggett.Source: NCA NewsWire
Michael Lichaa and Kara Childerhouse. Picture: Supplied.Source: Supplied

His trial before Magistrate Melissa Humphreys took a sensational twist on Thursday when Ms Childerhouse refused to turn up to Sutherland Local Court to give evidence.

Despite being subpoenaed and midway through her testimony police were unable to contact her after knocking on her door and calling her.

The court heard that she no longer wanted to take part in the proceedings and was pregnant and worried about the stress of reliving the incident.

All of her testimony which she had given up until that point was excluded though a statement, in which she retracted the allegations, was admitted into evidence.

It left the prosecution with no evidence to tend on the assault charge.

Kara Childerhouse failed to turn up to Sutherland Local Court. Picture: John GraingerSource: News Corp Australia

Police had alleged he was involved in an argument, which prompted concerned neighbors to call police to his Connells Point home.

The court has heard that the incident occurred after Mr Lichaa caught Ms Childerhouse performing a sexual act on his mate and former teammate Adam Elliott.

Mr Elliott told the court on Thursday that he had been drinking for 12 hours following a party at Mr Lichaa’s home.

When it was suggested that Mr Lichaa had assaulted Ms Childerhouse, he said “I disagree.”

Mr Elliott told the court that Mr Lichaa exclaimed “what the f*** are you doing?” and he went outside and walked back and forth in a heated state.

Adam Elliott told the court that Michael Lichaa did not assault his former partner. Picture: NRL Imagery.Source: Supplied
Michael Licha. Photo: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images.Source: Getty Images

A witness previously told the court that she heard a man saying loudly “I’m going to f***ing kill her”.

His lawyer James Trevallion denied that amounted to an offense of intimidation, adding there was no evidence the words were said in her presence.

“Clearly it was a situation where there was a lot of emotion and feeling and it would be remarkable when walking up and down the street if he wasn’t yelling and screaming and emotional and upset about what had occurred,” Mr Trevallion told the court on Friday.

.