RESEARCH REPORT The views of Australian judicial officers on domestic and family violence perpetrator interventions
This project aimed to support the development of judicial information and guidance to enhance the effective use of perpetrator interventions in Australian state and territory courts.
The findings of this project illuminate the views of judicial officers about perpetrator interventions and offer new knowledge about how these views might influence the use of perpetrator interventions in DFV matters.
The research revealed that judicial officers hold mixed views on the effectiveness of perpetrator interventions in DFV matters. Judicial officers reported having little access to information about which (if any) perpetrator interventions have been previously used with a perpetrator when a DFV case is before them. Judicial officers also expressed a lack of knowledge about perpetrator program referral options, in relation to both the availability and nature of the programs.
The report recommends the development of guidance on making use of a perpetrator’s history of interventions in all DFV matters, including in sentencing; the possibility of a centralised register of perpetrator intervention programs; and further consideration by courts and judicial education bodies about the role of judicial officers in creating system accountability regarding perpetrators of DFV.
Publication details
This work is part of the ANROWS Research reports series. ANROWS Research reports (Horizons) are in-depth reports on empirical research produced under ANROWS’s research program.
Authors
DR KATE FITZ-GIBBON
School of Social Sciences, Monash University
PROFESSOR JANEMAREE MAHER
School of Social Sciences, Monash University
KATE THOMAS
School of Social Sciences, Monash University
DR JASMINE McGOWAN
School of Social Sciences, Monash University
PROFESSOR JUDE McCULLOCH
School of Social Sciences, Monash University
JESSICA BURLEY
PhD candidate, Criminology, Monash University
DR NAOMI PFITZNER
School of Social Sciences, Monash University
ISBN: 978-1-925925-33-3 (print) | 978-1-925925-34-0 (online)
102 pp.
Suggested citation
Suggested citation:
Fitz-Gibbon, K., Maher, J., Thomas, K., McGowan, J., McCulloch, J., Burley, J., & Pfitzner, N. (2020). The views of Australian judicial officers on domestic and family violence perpetrator interventions (Research report, 13/2020). Sydney: ANROWS