Domestic violence most often framed as an individual event rather than a systemic problem Last year, 56 women were allegedly killed by their partner or ex-partner in Australia. Domestic violence against women is a national issue, and the media plays a key role in setting the public agenda on the issue. Our comparison of newspaper reporting in each state… Read more »

The pandemic has provided the “perfect conditions” for domestic violence abusers, an expert says, following a string of high-profile cases in recent years. Hayley Foster, the chief executive of Full Stop Australia — an organisation that supports domestic and family violence victims — said the frequency and severity of violence in the home had escalated during lockdowns. “The pandemic… Read more »

14 December 2021 People experiencing family violence will have more support closer to home, with a new Specialist Family Violence Court in Melbourne’s southeast. Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes visited the new court at Frankston to mark its official opening – the fifth since the rollout began in 2019. The court has been designed with the rights,… Read more »

The Drum / By Stephanie Boltje Posted Tue 10 Aug 2021 at 6:00amTuesday 10 Aug 2021 at 6:00am, updated Tue 10 Aug 2021 at 6:49am Domestic violence services are reporting a pressure-cooker environment during the pandemic, issuing stark warnings about a rise in demand for help across New South Wales since the latest lockdown began.  Key points: Domestic violence services say lockdowns are creating… Read more »

By Nick McAllister Posted Sun 22 Aug 2021 at 11:03pm Sunday 22 Aug 2021 at 11:03pm, updated Thu 2 Sep 2021 at 8:35am Nicole Lee was 24 when she met her now ex-husband, an amputee, through disability sports.  [Content warning: This story deals with sexual abuse and domestic violence.] A couple of months after he had moved in with her,… Read more »

A pay rise that means a woman earns more than her male partner increases her chance of domestic violence by 35 per cent, ground-breaking Australian research has revealed, suggesting men struggle to deal with not being the family breadwinner. Based on surveys done by the Australian Bureau of Statistics over more than a decade, the… Read more »

Use of stalkerware, GPS tracking and other technologies to commit family violence abuse has increased sharply in the past five years but a new tool to detect covert apps on victims’ phones is about to be rolled out. Research with frontline family violence workers by peak domestic violence network Wesnet found tracking and monitoring of women… Read more »

Grace, I was thrilled when your name was announced as Australian of the Year. Thrilled, but filled with worry. I wanted to share with you my concerns because we have more in common than you may realise. You are young and beautiful. When I became Australian of the Year in 2015, I was 53. The… Read more »

In February last year, Hannah Clarke’s estranged husband Rowan Baxter doused her car in petrol and set it alight killing her and their three children – Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey. He then took his own life. The brutal murder stunned the nation and thrust Australia’s domestic violence problem into the global spotlight. Now Hannah’s grieving parents… Read more »

“It sends a very clear message to everyone in the community that coercive controlling behaviour is dangerous and intolerable,” an anti-domestic violence advocate says. Despite coercive control being the most common risk factor present in the lead up to an intimate partner homicide, it’s not yet illegal across most of Australia. Now, a group of… Read more »