The death of Hannah Clarke and her three young children on in February 2020 on a footpath in Camp Hill in Brisbane opened our collective eyes to the devastating failures of authorities to protect victims of domestic abuse from being murdered.
Over the past 20 years coercive control has been defined, documented and legislated against in Britain. In Australia, calls for coercive control to be criminalised are being addressed by every state and territory legislature.
Media coverage in Australia about coercive control and growing community awareness has led to public calls for urgent law reform but there is a dearth of Australian research data on coercive control.
I undertook a detailed online survey Domestic violence survey: Australia 2021, launched in May 2021. The questions were based on the UK Home Office legal guidance on coercive control, Jane Monckton-Smith’s eight stages leading to intimate partner homicide and questions about the impact of coercive control, the cost of seeking legal assistance and police responses to victims. To date, 800 victims of abuse in all states and territories of Australia have completed the survey.
The findings document victims’ accounts of experiencing the various elements of coercive control; the impact on victims in terms of health consequences, medical costs and financial costs; their experience of reporting to police and the outcome of their reports; their experience of the legal system and other issues. The results reveal that many victims are very fearful of reporting abuse – including murder threats - to police because the victims are not confident of being protected if they do.
The findings indicate a critical failure of police and the court system to adequately protect the safety and lives of victims and their children who seek help to escape from dangerous partners.