What Is Domestic Violence In Australia

Domestic Violence in Australia

Domestic violence is an ongoing, international issue. There are many forms of domestic violence; these can include physical, social and emotional abuse. Domestic violence can affect anyone – men, women, young, old, of any ethnicity, race or religion. The most common victims are women, in fact it’s estimated that 1 in 4 women will experience some form of domestic abuse in some point in her life. These women and those closest to them more then often go on to suffer from short and long term effects of the violence they experience.

The current law enforced to protect individuals from domestic violence in Queensland is called the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act (2012). This act, when created, repealed…show more content…
As many offenders continue to breach their orders. It’s estimated that family violence order breaches, in Victoria, have risen from a 1 in 4 to a 1 in 3 last year, over 15000 cases of breaches were reported in Victoria alone.

The rises in these incidents poses as a challenge for law enforcement individuals and also highlight the problems that are still experienced by the victims. The law needs break the undeterred cycle of domestic violence. Under the old Act, victims of domestic violence were able to choose whether or not their abusive partner would have charges pressed upon them – the 2012 Act, gives greater power to law enforcement. The Act makes it a responsibility for on duty police officers to investigate suspected cases of abuse and to immediately take action upon it.

The new Act has also increased the protection for victims by increasing the consequences for acts of abuse by continuous breach offenders. The new Act will see to breachers facing an increased jail time and also for the amount of penalty units applied. The minimum penalty for breaching a domestic violence order is 2 years imprisonment or 60 penalty units (that’s $6000). This is an increase from 12 months imprisonment or 40 penalties. The maximum penalty for breaching an order has been increased to three years imprisonment and 120 penalty units – this being the highest amount of jail time a Magistrates…show more content…
Fact sheets - Queensland's new domestic and family violence legislation. [online] Available at: http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/communityservices/violence-prevention/domestic-and-family-violence-protection-act-2012/fact-sheets-queenslands-new-domestic-and-family-violence-legislation [Accessed 31 Aug. 2014].
Community Services, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services (Queensland Government), (2014). What is domestic and family violence?. [online] Available at: http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/communityservices/violence-prevention/about-domestic-and-family-violence-prevention/what-is-domestic-and-family-violence [Accessed 31 Aug. 2014].
Domesticviolence.com.au, (2014). Domestic & Family Violence Info. [online] Available at: http://www.domesticviolence.com.au/pages/domestic-family-violence-info.php [Accessed 31 Aug. 2014].
ReachOut.com, (2014). Domestic violence support. [online] Available at: http://au.reachout.com/domestic-violence-support [Accessed 31 Aug. 2014].
Stop Domestic Violence. (2014). [image] Available at: http://vicmps.greens.org.au/content/budgets-family-violence-funding-pathetic [Accessed 29 Aug.