Thursday, 4 May 2023

Domestic violence prevention

Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (22:35): (198) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, and the action I seek is for her to consider the case for a domestic violence disclosure scheme and a domestic violence offenders registry in Victoria. In 2014 domestic violence was declared a national emergency in Australia. In 2023 the single most unsafe place for a woman in Australia is still inside her own home. Currently, eight years on from the Royal Commission into Family Violence, in the absence of significant and effective primary prevention mechanisms or strategies across our entire country, including Victoria, rates of domestic and family violence and sexual violence continue to increase.

The introduction of a domestic violence disclosure scheme that allows an individual to gain access to a potential partner’s relevant and contemporary history of violence is critical to avoiding new women and children becoming victims. Under a disclosure scheme, a woman would no longer need to meet the present qualifying threshold of having an act of violence committed against her to obtain information relevant to her safety. Such a scheme carries further utility to mitigate risks for victim-survivors wishing to enter into relationships with new potential partners. In conjunction, a domestic violence offenders registry would provide a means to effectively monitor and manage highly violent and recidivistic offenders within our community.

In Victoria the intervention of a royal commission and national- and state-based action plans have failed to result in reductions in the rates of domestic and sexual violence. Despite all 227 recommendations of the royal commission having been implemented, the fact remains that our system is response based in nature and not geared towards primary prevention. There remain extensive gaps in preventing domestic violence before it occurs, and perpetrators are inadequately managed or monitored within the community. Most systems, resources and expenditure are only relevant once an act of violence has occurred. Advocates see these schemes as not a solution but an essential component to prioritising primary prevention initiatives throughout Victoria. I hope the minister will consider committing to meeting with advocates for the scheme and the registry in order to prioritise primary prevention as opposed to our existing strategy of harm minimisation in domestic violence throughout Victoria.