Micaela Cronin commenced as Australia’s first Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner on 1 November 2022. Micaela began her career as a social worker in family violence and sexual assault services, and has held leadership roles across the social service sector in Australia and internationally, including President of ACOSS. Micaela has been the CEO of an international non-government organisation based in Asia, working to build global service delivery and strategic partnerships to tackle human trafficking and human rights abuses. She returned to Australia in 2019 to take up the role as Director of RMIT Universities Workforce Innovation and Development Institute, tackling Australia’s social services biggest workforce challenges. In 2014, Micaela was awarded the Robin Clark Leadership award, Victoria’s most prestigious Children’s Protection award, recognising a leader who inspires others in achieving the best outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Abstract: Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is widely available online, and arrests and prosecutions for CSAM are increasing every year. This problem has escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted an unprecedented increase in reports of CSAM to authorities. Many of the men who view and share CSAM have families, and there is growing recognition that their non-offending partners and children are a significant group of ‘secondary victims’. This paper summarises ground-breaking Australian research which finds that many non-offending partners of CSAM offenders have experienced domestic violence and coercive control, and face unique challenges when leaving the relationship with the CSAM offender. Drawing on interviews and surveys with women, as well as interviews with domestic violence workers and other support workers, this presentation examines the impact of CSAM offending on women’s lives before, during and after the arrest of their partner. It describes how the secrecy of CSAM offending motivates and shapes men’s use of control and violence against their partners, giving rise to specific dynamics and behaviours that distinguish domestically abusive CSAM offenders from other domestic abusers. The paper discusses the support needs of non-offending partners and their children, including managing intersecting criminal, child protection and family law matters, and the modes of support preferred by non-offending partners. The paper presents key ‘red flags’ and typologies for CSAM offending in a relationship and considers how paedophilia intersects with violence against women.