Photo by Al Seib (via VICE)
Malcolm Turnbull, for all of his short comings on social issues like marriage equality and children in detention, has taken family violence seriously. Last September, in a stirring national address, the PM demanded Australia "become a country which is known for its respect for women." The speech set the tone for the year ahead: family violence would become a top national priority.Victoria followed suit. Last year, the state government okayed the Royal Commission into Family Violence. The laborious undertaking missed its first deadline to finally arrive, late, on March 30. Anyone who wasn't expecting much has been surprised: it has the power to be deeply transformative.The entire report is huge. There are eight volumes: 2000 pages containing 227 recommendations, all of which Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has promised to implement. "We'll punish the perpetrators of this violence, we'll listen to the people who survive it, and we will change the culture that created it," he said the morning he first read the paper. Huge, if true.Since you don't have time to pour over 2000 pages, here's everything you should know about how the report got made, and the most interesting solutions it's proposed.The People Behind the Report
The commission was headed up by former Victorian supreme court justice Marcia Neave, a woman with a tonne of awards and a progressive record. In the 1980s, she led an inquiry that urged the government to legalise sex work and better protect all sex workers, especially those working on the street—and politicians listened to her.To compile the Commission into Family Violence, Neave and her two deputy commissioners held 25 public hearings over four months. Nurses, social workers, and women who'd experienced violence themselves gave testimony. Confidentially, even more people shared their stories, including men who'd perpetrated family violence. Beyond the public hearings and written submissions, Marcia and her crew met with Aboriginal Elders, and pulled information from "community consultations, literature reviews, commissioned research and discussions with experts."Upping the Police Game: Body Cameras and Restraining Orders
The report requested a trial of body cameras, like those cops are starting to wear in the US. Police would wear the cameras to family violence call outs so they could easily capture evidence and record statements on the scene.It also asks the government to consider letting police issue Family Violence Orders—essentially, restraining orders—on the spot. Right now, getting FVOs is an arduous process. A woman has to go to court multiple times, fill out a tonne of paperwork, and wait to see if their request will get approved. If she needs immediate protection, she can get an interim order, but that means meeting with a magistrate—and they're not alway available. As Victorian Legal Aid explains, "if the court is busy, you may have to come back another day." This is not a system designed to protect the women who have to go back to a home they share with their abuser.One Stop Shops: Making the System More Accessible
The most game-changing move in the report is the setup of 17 safety hubs across the state: they're kind of like one-stop-shops women can go to for help. Instead of heading to courts, social worker and police separately, the hubs would finally give victims a single entry point. There, women could advice and emergency accommodation, and support workers could understand the risk facing the victim. "There must be clear entry points into, and pathways between different parts of the system, to make the experience of seeking help as supportive and seamless as possible," the report said.The Kids Aren't Alright: Keeping Families Together
We need to focus on children—even if they aren't the direct victims of violence, witnessing it happen deeply affects them. The commission noticed"a lack of targeted resources to meet the specific needs of children and young people who have experienced family violence," claiming "Current policy does not pay sufficient attention to the effects of violence on children." They've want to lessen stress on kids by making sure they alway stay with their families and never get placed in crisis accommodation separate to their mothers and siblings. There will be also be "blitz to rehouse women and children forced to leave their homes."Police Problems: Family Violence Isn't Every Cop's Priority
Family violence takes up a lot of police time. Daily, Victorian police respond to 187 calls. That's more than one every ten minutes. Daniel Andrews rightly called family violenceour "number one law and order issue." But for a system that deals with family violence so frequently, not everyone's well equipped to handle it.While the report acknowledged the police have made huge strides over the past 15 years, there are still issues "with cultural norms and attitudes among some police members are also apparent." Too many police still consider family violence "a private matter," and the commission reckons the force need to update their attitudes.Ending the Cycle: Making Healthy Relationships School Curriculum
In a culture that doesn't really respect women, where children don't know what healthy relationships look like, violence is inevitable. The report's approach to pull abuse up by the roots is to create "a culture of nonviolence and gender equality and to shape appropriate attitudes towards women and children." In a practical sense, that means educating kids on respectful relationships in all Victorian schools.
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The commission was headed up by former Victorian supreme court justice Marcia Neave, a woman with a tonne of awards and a progressive record. In the 1980s, she led an inquiry that urged the government to legalise sex work and better protect all sex workers, especially those working on the street—and politicians listened to her.To compile the Commission into Family Violence, Neave and her two deputy commissioners held 25 public hearings over four months. Nurses, social workers, and women who'd experienced violence themselves gave testimony. Confidentially, even more people shared their stories, including men who'd perpetrated family violence. Beyond the public hearings and written submissions, Marcia and her crew met with Aboriginal Elders, and pulled information from "community consultations, literature reviews, commissioned research and discussions with experts."
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The report requested a trial of body cameras, like those cops are starting to wear in the US. Police would wear the cameras to family violence call outs so they could easily capture evidence and record statements on the scene.It also asks the government to consider letting police issue Family Violence Orders—essentially, restraining orders—on the spot. Right now, getting FVOs is an arduous process. A woman has to go to court multiple times, fill out a tonne of paperwork, and wait to see if their request will get approved. If she needs immediate protection, she can get an interim order, but that means meeting with a magistrate—and they're not alway available. As Victorian Legal Aid explains, "if the court is busy, you may have to come back another day." This is not a system designed to protect the women who have to go back to a home they share with their abuser.One Stop Shops: Making the System More Accessible
The most game-changing move in the report is the setup of 17 safety hubs across the state: they're kind of like one-stop-shops women can go to for help. Instead of heading to courts, social worker and police separately, the hubs would finally give victims a single entry point. There, women could advice and emergency accommodation, and support workers could understand the risk facing the victim. "There must be clear entry points into, and pathways between different parts of the system, to make the experience of seeking help as supportive and seamless as possible," the report said.The Kids Aren't Alright: Keeping Families Together
We need to focus on children—even if they aren't the direct victims of violence, witnessing it happen deeply affects them. The commission noticed"a lack of targeted resources to meet the specific needs of children and young people who have experienced family violence," claiming "Current policy does not pay sufficient attention to the effects of violence on children." They've want to lessen stress on kids by making sure they alway stay with their families and never get placed in crisis accommodation separate to their mothers and siblings. There will be also be "blitz to rehouse women and children forced to leave their homes."Police Problems: Family Violence Isn't Every Cop's Priority
Family violence takes up a lot of police time. Daily, Victorian police respond to 187 calls. That's more than one every ten minutes. Daniel Andrews rightly called family violenceour "number one law and order issue." But for a system that deals with family violence so frequently, not everyone's well equipped to handle it.While the report acknowledged the police have made huge strides over the past 15 years, there are still issues "with cultural norms and attitudes among some police members are also apparent." Too many police still consider family violence "a private matter," and the commission reckons the force need to update their attitudes.Ending the Cycle: Making Healthy Relationships School Curriculum
In a culture that doesn't really respect women, where children don't know what healthy relationships look like, violence is inevitable. The report's approach to pull abuse up by the roots is to create "a culture of nonviolence and gender equality and to shape appropriate attitudes towards women and children." In a practical sense, that means educating kids on respectful relationships in all Victorian schools.