Domestic violence in Australia

In Australia, the issue of domestic violence is addressed through the use of Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVO). The use of ADVO and APVO illustrates several flaws within the system. ADVOs have failed to provide protection for people who have abusive partners. There have been many incidents where the victim was beaten to death even though they had obtained an ADVO against their partner. The law has subsequently responded by enforcing new domestic violence laws. The Daily Telegraph article from May 2008 stated that under these new proposed laws, those accused of domestic violence would only have one week to plead guilty. These new laws aimed to improve resource efficiency by removing delays that may occur during court cases, thus making the process less traumatic for the victims

In 2002 the Federal Government established the National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault with funding of $16.1 million. On top of that there is a $50 million funding for the Partnership Against Domestic Violence.

In 2012 the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act was amended to reflect contemporary understandings of domestic and family violence.^[1] Examples of relationships that fall under the new act are same-sex relationships & "one night stands" where a child is produced.

Domestic violence may include numerous factors including: emotional, verbal, social, economic, psychological, spiritual, physical and sexual abuse.^[2]

References