Legal education presentation from Waitakere Community Law Service For information on: protection orders; new Police safety orders; care and protection of children (parenting orders) etc. WCLS Domestic Violence Presentation
Resources in our library:
What's a Protection Order? This new resource from Skylight is written specifically for children. Waves have purchased 30 copies in order to get the bulk discount. You can pick them up from the Hub at 7 Henderson Valley Road for $4.50 each. Man Made: Men, Masculinities and Equality in Public Policy. 2009. Coalition on Men and Boys. United Kingdom. This 158 page report is an in-depth look at issues that relate to men and boys in the UK. It has a very good section on violence and also sections on work, fatherhood, health and education. The violence section deals with diverse topics such as domestic violence, rape, violence in gay, bisexual and transgender relationships, pornography, forced marriage, honour crimes and female genital mutilation. This is an excellent resource for anyone who is working with men or considering men’s issues in regard to their work. ‘Man Made’ analyses how public policy can support and engage with men and boys effectively, and outlines practical proposals for reform. The key messages from the report are that: A more sophisticated public debate is needed about masculinity issues, going beyond stereotypes of men either as oppressors or victims, ‘in control’ or ‘in crisis’. Men as a group are considerably more powerful than women and children. But it is a relatively small group of highly-paid men who dominate politics, business, media, the public sector and the justice system. In contrast, men at the sharp end of economic and social change can face unemployment, ill-health, and social isolation. Alongside efforts to improve the position and status of women, public policy needs to respond urgently to the problems that men and boys create and the problems that they experience. First steps should involve: tackling the long hours culture in workplaces; improving men’s use of primary health care; encouraging services to engage more actively with fathers; and developing programmes to educate men and boys about healthy relationships and violence against women. The participation of men and boys in achieving change is vital. Whilst some show little or no desire to give up any privileges they hold, many are realising that maintaining the status quo has negative consequences for their health and personal lives – and for others. To engage men and boys in larger numbers it is essential to develop education and social marketing campaigns, shift the predominant culture (eg. in political life, media, workplaces, sports), and change laws and policies in the ways set out in the report.
Time for Action: The National Council’s Plan for Australia to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children. 2009. Commonwealth of Australia. Canberra. A country wide plan to counter family violence In March this year Australia released the national plan to reduce violence against women and their children. The plan incorporates a wide range of perspectives including people with a disability, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, indigenous people, batterers and victims, academics and spiritual leaders.
There are six outcome areas that the plan is designed around. These are: • Communities are safe and free from violence • Relationships are respectful • Services meet the needs of women and their children • Responses are just • Perpetrators stop their violence • Systems work together effectively.
What stood out for me about this report are the differences in approach from the work that is currently happening in New Zealand.
First, this entire document has a clear focus on reducing violence against women and children. The issues of sexual and domestic violence are not hidden by gender neutral terms such as family violence. The safety of women and children is the primary function of the report.
Secondly, the report combines sexual and domestic violence and makes recommendations for services, policies and community engagement to reduce both at the same time. You may recall the paper about this that was summarised in the last newsletter. This is an explicit acknowledgement of the harm caused by all forms of violence against women.
The report takes an ecological and human rights approach to the prevention of violence. This means a number of things.
The needs of all women are equally considered in this report – indigenous women, migrant women, women with disabilities, single women, young and old.
Prevention is considered of equal importance to treatment and service provision. Prevention means a much wider range of activities than in New Zealand policy – it means equal pay for equal work and ensuring that gender barriers and discrimination are removed.
The report argues for full and appropriate resourcing for all of the suggested actions – non-competitive funding that encourages community participation and collaboration.
The other thing that is very strongly argued throughout the report is men taking responsibility for much of the change – that men address male behaviour, gender discrimination and unequal opportunities for women.
This is a whole of government, whole country response to sexual and intimate partner violence against women.
I think that our community/network and the government services and taskforces that work on our behalf could learn a great deal about an integrated constructive response from this report.
We have ordered this resource and hope to have it available soon.
Web-based resources:
Swedish Plan To Reduce Gender Based Violence Sweden's Development Agency SIDA has released a two year strategy to reduce gender based violence.
The strategy seeks to contribute to a reduction in gender based violence, promote economic and social rights and empowerment through SIDA's partner countries and in all humanitarian assistance. The strategy seeks to improve and expand preventative and legislative measures as well as services for victims/survivors of gender based violence.
You can borrow this report from the WAVES resource library or use this link to access the strategy.
New Zealand Human Rights Report Released New Zealand's human rights achievements and priorities for the future were reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in New Zealand's first National Universal Periodic Review Report released in April 2009.
The review aims to improve human rights in all countries and highlight human rights violations when they occur.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) requires each of the 192 UN member states to report on their human rights records every four years. States report on their human rights achievements during that period and set key priorities for the future. The report highlighted addressing violence within families and its impact on women and children as one of 7 key priorities for the New Zealand government to address looking forwards.
You can borrow this report from the WAVES resource library or the full report is available here.
Better Policing, Better Outcomes: Changing police culture to prevent domestic violence and homicide. Gaby Marcus. Australian Family Violence Clearinghouse. Issues Paper 18. April 2009 with: Detective Superintendent Gerry Campbell. Metropolitan Police Services, England; Detective Superintendent Wendy Steendam, Victoria Police Service, Australia; Commander Colin Little, Tasmanian Police Service, Australia.
This paper reports on a forum, held in Australia, about the ways that police deal with domestic violence. The paper reports on the changes that have occurred in police practice to enable a constructive response to domestic violence in London (England), Victoria and Tasmania.
Research in Australia suggests an increase in the numbers of victims of domestic and family violence seeking help from the police – while acknowledging that this is only a small proportion of actual cases.
“…the police response is not only vital for the immediate safety of the victim but also conveys an important social message about the way in which violence against women and children is regarded by society, the level of social tolerance of violence and the criteria for criminal behaviour.”
This paper examines three case studies of improving policing to ensure greater responsiveness and safety for women and children.
The commonalities between the three services include: • A high level of support and leadership in government and the police • Linkages and integration across agencies – from the criminal justice system and support services • Senior management commitment to overseeing individual policing responses • Feedback from senior offers • Resourcing the policing of domestic violence and family violence adequately
Processes that are required for a high quality service include: • Very important: - the training for junior, front line and senior police “specialised, robust and ongoing”. • Measuring police response against a set of criteria • Having evidence collection methods • Having quality information • Constant questioning of the approach and the procedures and looking for improvement
The paper then presents the reports from the three police districts.
Interesting highlights (totally subjective of course!) include:
From England “Out of the 102,277 domestic violence incidents and episodes last year, we expect 102,277 of these documents (their reporting forms) to be completed” p. 5 “Effective investigation of domestic violence … involves calling on a forensic officer to conduct a crime scene interpretation.” p. 5
“Our risk management levels are ranked as standard, medium and high risk…Generally in London and other parts of the UK we do not refer to ‘low risk’ as this concept may influence officers mindsets” p. 5
“In London we operate on the basis that by protecting mother, we are protecting the children as well.” p. 6
In Victoria “The Code of Practice is a key and fundamental piece of work that needed to occur, as we had some members who previously would not take action when attending family violence incidents….Victoria Police released this document publicly on our website. The purpose of its public availability was to clarify to the services supporting women and those affected by violence how police were expected to respond. It was also intended that victims, members of the public and services could hold police accountable to the Code…” p. 10
In Tasmania “Safe at Home also entailed the development of the family violence management system (FVMS), an information technology system used by police to record family violence incidents, their response to the incident and the risk assessment. This underpins the case management approach as other service providers in the Department of Health and Human services, in Court Support and Liaison services also have access to FVMS. These agencies can look online at what action the police have taken and what stages matters are at, as well as adding their own notes to the system…” p. 14
You can borrow this paper from the WAVES resource library.
The Disappearing Age: A discussion paper on a strategy to address violence against older women. Ludo McFerran. Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse. June 2009. Topic Paper 18.
“The overarching message…is that violence against women does not stop at the age of 45. Instead, the violence may become more complex, insidious and debilitating, compounded by factors such as the financial insecurity of single women in their fifties and early sixties, and a culture of silence and stoicism among older women”
This Australian paper discusses how older women, defined here as women over 45 years, tend to disappear from family violence statistics and services and only reappear as victims of elder abuse, despite one in four women aged 45 years or older having experienced physical violence in the past 12 months. It examines a project by the Older Women’s Network NSW to describe the current understanding of violence against older women and develop a strategy to address it.
Responding to the needs of women in this age range requires a number of changes in the various sectors who work with women. • Domestic violence agencies need to recognise the huge unmet need and have strategies and training to identity and respond to these women. • Aged care services need to understand domestic violence, not just elder abuse, and have appropriate strategies to deal with it. • Housing services require facilities to safely and securely house older women – whether leaving abusive relationships or already living alone, who require safety and support. Older single women are at high risk of becoming chronically homeless.
While 45 years has been chosen as the lower end of ‘older women’ the paper acknowledges the diversity of experience for women as they age and the increasing vulnerability, poor health and dependency that can occur with aging.
The paper reports a number of factors that have contributed to the abuse of older women remaining uncounted and inadequately responded to. These includes a focus, “by the family violence sector, on younger women and their dependant children, defining the abuse of older women as age related rather than a life long continuum of violence… framing older people as sexless, and limited levels of collaboration between aged, health and family violence services”. It is also about how statistics are gathered and research is carried out.
If one in four older women report physical domestic violence, then the services that are set up to respond to violence must ensure that they have the facilities and services to respond to these women.
Australian research has discovered there are a number of reasons that older women don’t talk about abuse or look for help. These include: • shame and embarrassment • thinking that calling the police, going to a refuge or leaving home are choices for younger women • feeling too old to re-enter the workforce • thinking they would be ostracised by their communities – social and cultural • fear of being placed in an aged care facility if they left home.
Domestic violence against older women has many features similar to that experienced by younger women but there are also important differences. • A range of family members and carers may abuse older women • Older women living alone are vulnerable to financial abuse by their children • Social isolation is a common feature of abuse against older women • Older women lack choices
Leaving an abusive relationship causes financial problems for all women. For older women, however, there is increased vulnerability. They may be too old to find work, have no savings, be dependant on the pension. Their house may have been their only (joint) asset. Leaving also makes women very vulnerable to homelessness. While there are a number of services that house single men, there are very few that house single women – especially single older women. There are also very few places in refuge for single older women.
Most of the services that are offered are from the aged care sector. This means that this sector needs to understand and respond to the gendered nature of abuse and put training and polices in place to identify domestic violence, respond constructively and develop partnerships with existing domestic violence agencies.
The paper then examines a number of other issues relating to health service response, legal issues and community awareness.
The paper concludes by saying that “the greatest immediate challenge is to provide older women experiencing violence and abuse with a safe and appropriate pathway to effective support and assistance.”
Strategies that are suggested to support older women: “ An urgent response to the historically low funding of services for homeless women, particularly appropriate permanent accommodation” “Develop policies and protocols for services responding to family violence that recognise the prevalence, specificity and complex nature of violence against older women” Include aged care services in integrated family violence systems and maximise collaborative opportunities, such as joint training across all sectors.” Support women to safely stay in their homes – develop safety plans including subsidised home security measures Older women support groups “Review supported accommodation and homeless models to ensure appropriate and proportionate access and responses for single older women”
You can borrow this paper from the WAVES resource library.
Arrested Female Offenders in Auckland City April – September 2008. Deborah Mackenzie, SHINE (Safer Homes in New Zealand Everyday). Auckland. April 2009.
The purpose of this study was to gain a greater understanding of the prevalence and dynamics of female domestic violence offending in Auckland City.
Over the period studied, 60 female offenders were arrested; this was 10% of all domestic violence arrests in the Auckland City District. Of these 60 cases, 20 involved female victims: 9 lesbian, 10 family members and one care giver dependant. 40 involved male victims; 35 ex partners, 4 family members and 1 unknown.
Some of these were dual arrests – i.e. both parties involved were arrested.
This information has been further broken down into a number of categories including: assessed risk, previous history of offender as victim, protection orders existing and the victim’s fear of the offender.
This is a very interesting study. Out of the 40 cases of women offending against male victims, 19 women – nearly one third of all female offenders in the study– had previously been victims of the men they offended against. In some cases, the police recorded the violence as self-defence. In a number of these cases the male partner had previously been assessed as very high or extreme risk. None of the female offenders in the study was assessed as higher than moderate risk –one case was a lesbian relationship with a previous history of offending and two were male victims. 62% of female offenders with male victims were assessed as no apparent risk.
“Over half of the female offenders in heterosexual relationships had endured sustained and often serious violence from their male partners in the past. In many of these cases, the violence used by the women was minor compared to what they had endured as victims historically.”
Arresting women who are in fact victims, makes them more vulnerable. This is partly because it means that women will be less likely to ring the police when they are being threatened or assaulted for fear of being arrested themselves. The other risk is that abusive partners will use the arrest to their advantage to further abuse and control women.
There are a number of other interesting bits of information extrapolated from the data.
This study concludes by calling for a differential response by police and courts to ‘responsive’ violence and intentional violence. This is a response that is being instigated in the USA. A ‘predominant aggressor’ policy would assist the police and courts to make decisions about safety of victims and accountability of offenders.
You can borrow this paper from the WAVES resource library or access it on the NZFVC website.
Sexual and Reproductive Outcomes of Intimate Partner Violence 1) Contraceptive use and associations with intimate partner violence among a population-based sample of New Zealand women. Janet Fanslow, Anna Whitehead, Martha Silva, Elizabeth Robinson. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Volume 48, Issue 1, Date: February 2008, Pages: 83-89
2) Pregnancy outcomes and intimate partner violence in New Zealand. Janet Fanslow, Martha Silva, Anna Whitehead, Elizabeth Robinson. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Volume 48, Issue 4, Date: August 2008, Pages: 391-397
3) Violence during pregnancy: Associations with pregnancy intendedness, pregnancy-related care, and alcohol and tobacco use among a representative sample of New Zealand women. Janet Fanslow, Martha Silva, Elizabeth Robinson, Anna Whitehead Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Volume 48, Issue 4, Date: August 2008, Pages: 398-404
These three New Zealand studies examine the effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on contraceptive use, pregnancy outcomes, pregnancy related care, intended or unintended pregnancies and alcohol and tobacco use. The outcomes are consistent with data from similar studies in other developed countries.
What these studies show, is that the experience of IPV has an effect on contraceptive use, the rates of unintended pregnancies, termination of pregnancy and is associated with alcohol and tobacco use.
1) Contraception use Research from the USA tells us that women who have experienced violence from a partner are more likely to have unwanted pregnancies, less likely to use condoms or ask their partners to use condoms and be at significantly higher risk of sexually transmitted infections. Abused women felt that they are unable to avoid intercourse with their abusers, despite fear of pregnancy, and in some cases were denied access to contraception. This is consistent with the New Zealand findings. Women who have experienced IPV were more likely to have partners who refused to use a condom or let women use any form of contraception. This information was often communicated in a violent way. This impacts on women’s ability to avoid unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
2) Pregnancy outcomes This study reports on non-birth pregnancy outcomes from a large population based sample of NZ women.
The study noted that among women in NZ attending an abortion clinic, 50% reported experiencing sexual or physical abuse in their life time. The general population figure is 36%.
The reported non-birth pregnancy out comes from this study were, after controlling for confounding factors, that women who had ever experienced IPV were 1.4 times more likely to report having a spontaneous abortion and 2.5 times more likely to report ever terminating a pregnancy. Still birth was relatively rare and there did not appear to be any association.
3) Violence during pregnancy Associations with pregnancy intendedness, pregnancy-related care, and alcohol and tobacco use This study showed that just under 10% of women who had ever been pregnant had experienced violence during pregnancy. Many of these women hade experienced IPV before pregnancy and said that the violence during pregnancy was similar or worse than that experienced previously. Women who experienced violence during their pregnancy were more likely to smoke, but no more likely to use alcohol during pregnancy. There were also higher rates of unwanted pregnancies amongst the group of women being abused during pregnancy. These results raise a number of concerns about the health not only of the woman, but also her child – not only the risk of harm to the unborn child from violence and tobacco use, but the problems related to being unwanted and unplanned.
You can borrow this paper from the WAVES resource library.
