‘I’m Not at All Protected and I Think Other Women Should Know That, That They’re Not Protected Either’: Victim–Survivors’ Experiences of ‘Misidentification’ in Victoria’s Family Violence System

Abstract

The misidentification of women as predominant aggressors has emerged as a topical issue in family violence research, with feminist scholarship suggesting that such trends may be attributed to a range of factors, including incident-based policing and a misunderstanding of the ways in which women use violence against their partners. Where existing research has primarily focused on policing practices in relation to misidentification, this article explores the impacts of misidentification on the lives of women victim–survivors of family violence in Victoria (Australia), a jurisdiction that has recently seen significant reforms to family violence systems in the wake of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (2016). Using data from interviews with 32 system stakeholders and survey responses from 11 women who have experienced misidentification in Victoria, this study explores misidentification within the family violence intervention order system. It demonstrates that being misidentified as a predominant aggressor on a family violence intervention order can have a significant impact on women’s lives and their access to safety, highlighting the need for improved policing and court responses to the issue beyond existing reforms.

The co-occurrence of substance misuse, domestic abuse, and child maltreatment: Can Family Drug and Alcohol Courts play a part?

“…Many of the barriers it cited were well known. They included false accusations of parental alienation ( 84 ), systems abuse ( 85 , 86 ), and perpetrators using the family court as a site of coercive control ( 86 ). In addition, and crucially for the present review, the Panel report highlighted the obstacles to reform resulting from working in silos with poor coordination with other courts and organizations dealing with DA; an adversarial process; a lack of resources; insufficient attention to assessment of risk and child safeguarding and an inability to hear children's voices.…”

‘It’s a Gendered Issue, 100 Per Cent’: How Tough Bail Laws Entrench Gender and Racial Inequality and Social Disadvantage

“…Contrary to their aims of protecting women-who represent the majority of victim-survivors of DFV (AIHW 2018)-police and court processes surrounding DFV are in some instances increasing women's risk of criminalisation and incarceration (Walklate and Fitzgibbon 2021), especially if they have previously experienced criminalisation or are otherwise affected by racism, poverty or poor mental health. This can occur through 'dual arrests' or police 'misidentification' of the 'primary aggressor' (Nancarrow 2019;Reeves 2020Reeves , 2021Ulbrick and Jago 2018), police arresting women on warrants or for unpaid fines (Klippmark and Crawley 2018) or police charging women when they use violence in the context of self-defence (State of Victoria 2016; Wilson et al 2017). Through analysis of criminal defence and duty lawyers' perspectives on the drivers for women's remand, we identify how narrow preconceptions about 'deserving victims' can further enmesh criminalised women in carceral systems.…”

“…This effectively makes them 'quasi-criminal' or 'hybrid' civil-criminal laws (Nancarrow 2019). The above quote highlights that as their use increases, so too does the risk of criminalisation, including for women (Reeves 2021). Lawyer 11 recounted:…”

“…When seeking help from police for DFV, criminalised and otherwise marginalised women are vulnerable to (further) criminalisation and remand since police practices play a crucial role in interpreting and enforcing laws 'on the ground'. This is particularly the case for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women who use illicit drugs, migrant women from non-English-speaking backgrounds and women with disability (Nancarrow 2019;Reeves 2020Reeves , 2021Watego et al 2021). Several lawyers we interviewed recounted instances of criminalised women ending up on remand after seeking help from police for DFV.…”

A Culture of Consent: Legal Practitioners’ Experiences of Representing Women Who Have Been Misidentified as Predominant Aggressors on Family Violence Intervention Orders in Victoria, Australia

“…Over the last decade in Australia, the misidentification of women victim-survivors of family violence as ‘predominant aggressors’ has received unprecedented attention (Wangmann 2009 ; Mansour 2014 ; Ulbrick and Jago 2018 ; Nancarrow et al 2020 ; Reeves 2020 , 2021 ). Current criminological research is particularly focused on the role of police in misidentification, notably in the civil protection order (CPO) space, where police play a pivotal role in initiating CPO applications against potential perpetrators.…”