Is it possible to stop domestic violence before it happens?
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Megan Boshell, area manager for Mission Australia in the central west, thinks so. But it will take a major shift in the way we think about the issue.
"One of the reasons why we're so passionate about delivering our Men's Behaviour Change Program is that it isn't about excusing men's behaviour at all," she said.
"It's about keeping women and children safe and it's an intervention that puts accountability on men about what behaviour is acceptable and what isn't... instead of the responsibility constantly being put on women and children to keep themselves safe.
"If we want there to be some change then we probably need to be putting a bit more attention towards perpetrators of this behaviour rather than to the victim survivors."
And she's not alone.
A landmark new report by Superintendent Andrew Hurst, a recently returned Churchill Fellow who served for 26 years as a police officer in Western NSW, recommends Australia explore prevention models like those seen overseas.
"It is confronting to acknowledge that someone's daughter, relative or friend has a one in four chance of becoming a victim of violence by a current or former intimate partner in her life," he said.
"This sobering statistic highlights the grim reality of intimate partner violence in Australia.
"It means that 20 per cent of girls in the playground at every local school will be a victim of sexual violence, and a quarter of those same girls will be a victim of intimate partner violence sometime after they turn 15."
Mr Hurst said his experience working in Dubbo, Wellington, Bourke and Wilcannia he saw rates of reoffending and revictimisation increase. He also noted a lack of strategies to change the behaviour of perpetrators and prevent them from offending again.
"Repeatedly arresting the same perpetrators for committing violence against the same intimate partners has many law enforcement officers, like myself, questioning whether our current systems adequately safeguards victims," he said.
"While the factors contributing to these crimes are complex, they are also identifiable and preventable."
Rates of intimate partner violence 'unacceptably high'
Between July 2022 and June 2023, the Dubbo Regional council area ranked eighth in NSW for recorded domestic violence assault incidents with more than twice the state average.
In Dubbo, there was a staggering 1,062.7 domestic violence assaults per 100,000 people, compared to an average of 428.7 in NSW.
"Sometimes those increasing numbers also reflect that people are more able to report domestic violence... There is lots of work being done with different agencies around women's safety and reporting," Ms Boshell said.
"I think across the board people are becoming more and more aware of what constitutes intimate partner or domestic violence that there are lots of different forms of violence.
"But the numbers are just unacceptably high and there needs to be work done. I think it's about looking at different ways to tackle the issue."
A different approach to policing?
In 2020, Mr Hurst went on a Churchill Scholarship which took him to Canada, the USA and the UK. There, he explored perpetrator interventions and multi-agency models to address intimate partner violence, including those tailored to Indigenous communities.
Key recommendations he made in his report include exploring a Family Justice Centre model and establishing an early intervention pre-court program designed to change behaviour of would-be offenders.
"Preventing domestic violence in Australia demands a shift from reactive measures to proactive community strategies," he said.
"Effective change requires collaborative efforts from communities, government agencies, the non-profit sector and policymakers. We need to break the cycle of violence and create lasting solutions."
Mr Hurst said shifting focus from response to prevention would also have economic benefits.
"The estimated economic cost of violence against women and children in Australia stands at $26 billion annually," he said
"The case for change to move from a model of response to prevention is very clear."
Ms Boshell agrees a focus on prevention and collaboration between different organisations is "crucial".
The Men's Behaviour Change Program is an initiative of the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and is delivered by Mission Australia under the name Manin' Up in the state's west.
It works with men to enable them to recognise their violent behaviour and develop strategies to stop them from using violence.
"It's critical to be sharing information and to be having those discussions about changing or not changing and about different programs and services," Ms Boshell said.
"Open communication across providers and the police or the legal system and NGOs like us is what supports us to keep people safe in our program and to make sure that the programs are being delivered where there is the need."
Support is available for those who may be distressed:
- 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
- National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028