Breaking the cycle: Trial integrated response to domestic and family violence in Rockhampton. Client experiences and outcomes

The need for systems working together effectively in responding to intimate partner abuse has been recognised for more than two decades, and various models of co-operative, collaborative, co-ordinated and integrated criminal justice and service system responses have emerged. At the core of such models is the belief that because the nature of domestic violence is complex and recurring, it requires a response that is comprehensive, co-ordinated and meaningfully engages community and government service providers (Spohn 2008). Since the mid-1990s there have been numerous developments in Australia, at local and jurisdictional level, towards co-ordinated or integrated responses to domestic violence. Within the context of its whole-of-Government strategy to reduce domestic and family violence (“For our sons and daughters” 2009-2014), the Queensland Government (under the leadership of the Department of Communities) has been trialling an integrated response to domestic and family violence in Rockhampton, Central Queensland, known as “Breaking the Cycle” (BTC). This integrated service delivery model aims to: improve the safety and well-being of people affected by domestic and family violence; reduce the demand on the current service systems (statutory, courts, human services); increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the human and justice service systems in responding to domestic and family violence; and build the skills of service providers to increase their ability to provide the best possible services to clients and break down the barriers to integrated workin

Domestic and family violence : awareness, attitudes and experiences. Preliminary findings

Serious attention to various forms of violence and abuse within different family relationships has emerged gradually over the past 40 to 50 years, beginning with efforts to address child abuse, followed by abuse of women by their current or former intimate male partners, then elder abuse and, more recently, adolescent-to-parent abuse. While the term ‘domestic violence’ was initially used in Australia to refer to abuse of a woman by her current or former intimate male partner, it has meant different things to different groups within the broader community. Further, many Indigenous Australians prefer the term ‘family violence’ (Blagg, 2000; Memmott, Stacy, Chambers, & Keys, 2001; Nancarrow, 2010). This has resulted in the term ‘domestic violence ’being applied more broadly than it was intended initially and it is often used interchangeably with ‘family violence’. In some jurisdictions within Australia (e.g. in commonwealth policy and law, and in Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory) the term ‘family violence’ has replaced ‘domestic violence’ in official policy and legislation and the term ‘domestic and family violence’ is used in Queensland, for example. As a result there is often confusion about what type of relationships are included in various policy or legislative initiatives and other terms, such as intimate partner abuse and adolescent-to-parent abuse have emerged. The different terms, and different conceptualisations of the problem, are also a consequence of the various relationship types being the primary concern of different sectors, such that there are those concerned primarily with intimate partner violence (or violence against women), those concerned with elder abuse and those concerned with adolescent-to-parent abuse. While there appears to be considerable overlap between the various groups of relationship violence, as well as some defining features, the sectoral separation of spheres of interest are also reflected in the research literature. This research is an early attempt at gathering information on Australians’ awareness, attitudes and experiences of violence across these various types of relationships. Preliminary findings are presented in this report and further analyses will be the subject of future publications

Intimate partner abuse of women in Queensland

Intimate partner violence, also referred to as intimate partner abuse, includes all types of physical and non‐physical violence and acts of abuse between intimate partners. This study focuses on intimate partner abuse among cohabiting, heterosexual partners living in the state of Queensland. Specifically, the study is concerned with the abuse of women by their current marriage or de facto male partners. Due to the particular geographic, economic and cultural characteristics of parts of Queensland many families are affected by atypical work schedules, periodic separation and isolation. Each of these may be expected to impact on the quality of relationships and, potentially, on the experience of intimate partner abuse