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Qld A-G responds to DFV Death Review
The Palaszczuk government has announced its response to the recommendations made in the Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Death Review and Advisory Board 2020-21 Annual Report.
Jess Feyder
The report found that between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2021, there were 375 homicides in a domestic and family relationships in Queensland. Out of these deaths, women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were significantly over-represented as deceased in homicides within an intimate partner or family relationship.
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The report made six recommendations, summarised below:
- That support is improved for those bereaved by a DFV death.
- The implementation of the recommended policy and practice reform by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) in its report Accurately identifying the “person most in need of protection” in domestic and family violence law.
- That an approach is found for identifying cases that are complex, high risk, or that involve cross applications for protection orders, and assuring such cases are managed appropriately.
- That the use of the Domestic and Family Violence Capability Assessment Tool for Alcohol and other Drug Settings is trialled and evaluated in alcohol and drug treatment.
- That a model for a peak body of DFV services is developed, to further integrate services into areas like workforce development, and undertake broader sector advocacy.
- That options are explored to improve the accessibility, availability, and acceptability of longer-term support for victims and their children, and support for rehabilitation and behavioural change for perpetrators.
She noted that there were strong similarities between the recommendations made in the report and some of the 89 recommendations made by the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce in its first report.
“We are implementing all of the recommendations of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce’s first report, and to undertake this crucial work we have committed an historic $363 million reform package.
“We are absolutely committed to ending violence against women and girls,” she said, “our top priority is the safety of women and girls and holding perpetrators to account”.
“As a result of the alignment with taskforce recommendations, five of the six board recommendations will be completed through the implementation of the taskforce recommendations.
“The other recommendation outlines the need for improvements to the support given to families, particularly children who have been impacted by a DFV death.
“We will be undertaking targeted consultation with services who support victims of homicide and DFV, as well as people with lived experience to shape how we can improve our response to loved ones of DFV homicide victims.”
The report outlines the need to better recognise the long-term effects of trauma, as well as the need for support that effectively disrupts the patterns of violence and abuse. It also identified that work is needed to better understand and respond to DFV among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
“I would like to thank the DFV Death Review and Advisory Board for its continued dedication and hard work towards keeping Queensland women and families safe,” Minister Fentiman said.
