Domestic violence crisis calls for urgent intervention
National
As the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence continues community consultation, Adelaide priest and social policy advocate Monsignor David Cappo AO, looks at an innovative deterrence approach developed in New York City.
Domestic Violence is very much in the public mind in Australia at this time. The Federal and State Governments are searching for more adequate interventions.
In South Australia, the Malinauskas Government has established a Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, led by Natasha Stott Despoja AO. This is an important opportunity to examine what isn’t working and what might work better in combating domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence.
The impact of domestic violence on people, particularly women and children, is horrific. In Australia one woman is killed every 11 days by an intimate partner. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017) police across Australia attended more than 320,000 victims of domestic violence in one year.
We also know there is high risk of repeat offending which often occurs in the weeks and months following the initial abuse, as reported in the Trends and Issues Bulletin of the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) in March 2020. If a partner decides to stay in the relationship, or in some cases where the victim has left the relationship but is stalked by the offender, the risk of further abuse is high, particularly without effective intervention.
I want to mention an innovation that I hope the Royal Commission in South Australia might take note of. The Focused Deterrence Approach has been developed by Professor David Kennedy from the prestigious John Jay School of Criminal Justice in New York City.
I recently spent time with Prof Kennedy to further understand this innovation that is being used and is having high impact in some states of the US.
Two decades ago, as commissioner for Social Inclusion for the South Australian Government, I arranged for Prof Kennedy to come to Adelaide and assist us in breaking the cycle of offending of a group of young people who were causing a lot of crime and havoc in the community. His assistance was very helpful.
Since then Prof Kennedy has applied his deterrence approach to domestic violence. I believe it would be an excellent addition to the raft of interventions and supports necessary to start significantly bringing down the number of violent incidents.
Ms Stott Despoja.
Long, medium and short-term interventions are all needed to address domestic violence. The Focused Deterrence Approach is a short-term approach designed to move quickly and take action to protect the victim and to engage the offender to stop offending. As the AIC noted ‘effective short-term responses are critical to ensure the safety of current and future generations of victims’. It is a high intensity, quick acting response, led by the police, in an integrated team with a range of support and care services, legal and corrections services, and community leaders with moral authority.
The victim of domestic violence is highly engaged in the approach, provided high levels of communication and support, and is informed of every step of interventions with the offender. The offender’s background and criminal profile (if any) is noted and is an important part of developing deterrents. It is well understood that a significant proportion of domestic violence offenders also have a larger and more generalised offending history.
The offender is both confronted and supported to address their offending. A designated community leader will tell the offender that the offending behaviour is unacceptable to the community and is placing himself outside of the community, and that this behaviour must stop.
If the offender is seen as high risk of reoffending, the deterrence approach is made high intensity. Legal sanctions are used if necessary. Offenders must attend what is known as ‘call-in’ meetings where the offender receives moral and legal messages against further violent behaviour. The offender is also offered counselling support. There is close police monitoring and the consequence of further offending is made both clear and blunt.
Some are critical of the Focused Deterrence Approach because of the high role given to the police, and the fear that offenders, particularly those from groups of people in disadvantage will be discriminated against and further criminalised. This is an important consideration for designers and implementers of the short-term intervention.
A deterrence approach with police involvement in an integrated plan with community leaders and support services does not have to be about criminalisation. Over many decades I have worked closely with senior South Australian police. I have always been impressed with their integrity and their skill in understanding community needs and the right responses. They have always been open to good research and evidence of what might work better for the good of all. They have the understanding to use deterrence as a skillful tool rather than blunt force.
What is the role of the Church community in responding to the personal and social evil of domestic violence? We must be clear and unequivocal in our response. And our voice must be loud. It is totally unacceptable and we must be a moral voice in the larger community to clearly oppose all forms of domestic violence.
We must give priority support, compassion and care to the victims of domestic violence and the children of these families. We must call on governments to take more action to intervene more fully to protect victims and, in the longer term, to change the culture amongst a sub group of people, some older, some younger, who might potentially be future offenders.
Offenders need to be offered pathways to change behaviour. Whatever interventions against domestic violence are put together in the future, they will need to involve a wide range of innovations as well as a clear moral base, in order to give those innovations a strong foundation and acceptance in the community. All people of good will, and those within the Christian community, can be active participants of support and solidarity in this important work.
- Mgr Cappo was chair/commissioner for Social Inclusion for the South Australian Government from 2002-2011.
- The Royal Commission is conducting regional visits before holding public hearings later this year and in early 2025. From early October, anyone can share their story with the commissioner via a ‘Share With Us’ online survey. People can respond to questions, write their story or upload an audio file. More details at royalcommissiondfsv.sa.gov.au/have-your-say
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