Honing help to fight DV

A FIRST Nations justice officer will be established to help ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island victims of domestic violence receive the support they need.

An evaluation into Southport’s specialist Domestic and Family Violence Court was released by the state government on Friday. The review made seven recommendations.

They include the need for support services targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with a disability, members of the LGBTQI+ community and older people.

The report also suggests more places in behavioural change programs for male perpetrators and support for factors which may contribute to offending behaviour such as drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, employment and a lack of housing.

Other recommendations include ongoing professional development for magistrates, prosecutors and other court staff, expanding the program statewide and developing a domestic violence court justice response manual.

“We’re working on a strategy to reduce over-representation and have more specialist services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders and our LGBTQI+ Queenslanders,” Attorney

General Shannon Fentiman said.

She said the state government would look at all recommendations, but many aligned with recommendations already made by the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.

The evaluation period for the report ran from July 2017 to the end of March 2020, during which more than 10,600 domestic violence applications were lodged relating to 13,000 people.

“After an examination of its operations, this evaluation concluded the court is proving extremely successful,” she said.

“It is delivering a co-ordinated, respectful and fair system, which prioritises the safety of the victim and their children, holds perpetrators accountable, and promotes changes in attitudes and behaviour.

“During the evaluation period the court made 722 intervention orders – this is where the court requires the perpetrator to attend a program to address their behaviour.

“The evaluation found that offenders complied with 89 per cent of DVOS, and there was some evidence that those who did breach their DVO complied with the order for a longer period if they went through the specialist DFV Court.”

The specialist court was trialled in Southport after the murders of Tara Brown and Karina Locke in 2015. It was made permanent in 2017 and the model has been rolled across the state.