Question:
Discuss about the Situational Prevention of Domestic Violence.
This case study deals with criminal hearing for assault that was heard in the Adelaide Magistrate Court. The Adelaide Magistrates Court had been dealing with cases involving criminal charges against men for assaulting a family member (Bond and Jeffries 2014). The designated courts that deal with such matters enable the police to provide necessary assistance to the victims and implement Abuse Prevention Programs management under the responsibility of the Courts Administration authority (Buchanan, Powe and Verity 2014). The analysis of the following case study shall include a synopsis, Court’s ruling and relevant legislations. It shall also include discussion on social justice and ethical issues that are relevant to the case.
In Tracy’s case, the Tracy Brown has been subjected to domestic violence committed by her husband Jeff brown. Her neighbor Mrs. Smith could hear yelling and screams coming from Tracey’s House and she called the Police complaining about the loud noises. She suspected that Jeff Brown was assaulting his wife Tracey and their kids. Tracey comes to Mrs. Smith’s house the next day, to apologize for all the noises that caused her disturbance. Tracey had a broken arm, as Jeff grabbed her by her hair, and banged her head against the wall while she was trying to protect her kids from him.
She further said that Jeff was a control freak and it has become impossible for her and the kids to live with him. Tracey had earlier told Mrs. Smith about Jeff being a control freak. If Tracey would return home late, Jeff would shout at her. Last night, the police arrived and arrested Jeff. Tracey said she signed an affidavit and the police issued an intervention order against Jeff, according to which Jeff is prevented from coming near within 50 m of the house and is neither allowed to meet Tracy or the children (Buchanan, Powe and Verity 2014).
However, Jeff brown is allowed to appear before the court but it is not mandatory for Tracy to attend the court as she had made her statements and signed an affidavit that shall be produced before the court on her behalf. If Tracey must appear before the court, she does not have to stay in the same room as him and may give her evidence in some other courtroom. Although Jeff is on bail but he is not allowed to contact Tracey or the children.
In South Australia, an intervention program is defined in the Bail Act and the Sentencing Act as a program that provides any one or more of the following services :
The legislative statute that is relevant to this case is the Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009. In this case, the police had issued a domestic violence intervention order and the court suggests Jeff about the Abuse Prevention Program. The program provides an opportunity for men who have been committing abusive behavior against their female partner or former partner (Zannettino and McLaren 2014). These programs are also known as Domestic Violence Prevention Programs (DVPPs).
The Magistrate explains the defendant that an intervention order may be issued by either the police or the court. In this case, the police on the scene of incident issued an intervention order when Jeff was assaulting Tracey while she was trying to protect their children. This order was issued to the defendant to prevent him from committing domestic and non-domestic abuse and to safeguard the children from being exposed to the effects of such abuse.
An act shall amount to an abuse under this statute if such act causes emotional or physical injury or any psychological harm. An intervention order is issued against persons who either are subject to the abuse or are at the risk of being exposed to the abuse caused by the defendant. Such persons are referred to as protected persons (Brown and James 2014). The police of South Australia are usually contacted first in case of an occurrence of domestic violence, as was the case in the present scenario. The police had issued the intervention order against the defendant to safeguard Tracey and her kids, who are the victim in this case. The Adelaide Magistrate court is required to conduct a review of the intervention order within 8 days.
Although the court or the police issue a single intervention order against the defendant to protect the victim, but if the issuing authority is of the opinion that an intervention order must be issued to safeguard more than one person, the authority may issue multiple intervention order to ensure safety against the defendant exhibiting abusive behavior. In this case, Tracey was subjected to assaults committed by her husband but their children were also being exposed to the behavior as Jeff banged Tracey’s head against the wall, and twisted her hand badly, in front of the children. This establishes that the children were also at the risk of being exposed to such abusive behavior exhibited by their father; hence, the police management had also issued an intervention order against the children along with their mother.
The court also informed the defendant, Jeff Brown, about the fact that the review of the Intervention order is heard in the Family Violence Court. It may also be heard in general court hearing (Salter 2014). The Magistrate may refer the man alleged to have committed abusive behavior to participate in the Abuse Prevention Program and undertake an assessment for an intervention program to address his abusive behavior. The man accused of committing domestic violence against his female partner or any family member shall be referred to attend prevention program. It is mandatory for the accused person to attend su8ch prevention program, as he is under statutory obligation to participate in the Abuse prevention program if his participation is one of the conditions stipulated in the Intervention Order. In case, the accused person is released on bail, and his participation in the prevention program is one of the conditions of his bail, such person becomes legally obligated to under the assessment that is conducted under the prevention program to resolve his abusive behavioral issues.
In this case, Jeff was charged with committing domestic violence against his wife Tracey and police had issued an intervention order against Jeff. One of the conditions of his intervention order was that he shall have to attend the Domestic Violence Prevention Program which is also known as the Abuse Prevention program as such program would help him learn to manage his relationship with his wife Mrs. Tracey Brown in a better way. Since it is one of the conditions of his intervention order, Mr. Brown is required to participate in such program. The court asked his lawyer to contact the agencies that conduct such programs to assess whether Jeff is eligible for participating in the program. While attending the prevention programs, Mr. Brown shall be prohibited from contacting with Mrs. Tracey Brown and the children.
On the day of appearance, the court explains Mr. Brown that he may consent to the intervention order that had been issued against him for committing abusive behavior against his wife Tracey Brown. This would imply that he would not be able to apply to change it for at least a year. If he does not consent, the court would adjourn the order for three weeks with the charge of assault made against Mr. Brown (Zannettino and McLaren 2014). The court mentioned that from the day of appearance until the next date of court appearance proceedings, the defendant shall have to comply with the following considerations:
The court also asked the defendant about how he is going to deal with the matter related to children who are also protected persons (Gray et al. 2014). The court informed that in such case, children are sent to family courts but the defendant wished to consult his lawyer about the concerned matter (Gray et al. 2014). The defendant asks about whether he could fetch his work tools that are in the house, the court held that it would vary the order to allow the defendant to go to the house at a time organized by the police to get his work tools.
The court states that the defendant is not allowed to make any contact with Mrs. Tracey Brown. He is not allowed to contact her through, texts, emails, facebook or through any form of electronic communications except he may contact his wife to discuss about how they may save their children. As per Mrs. Tracey Brown’s statements in her affidavit, Mr. Brown grabbed her by her hair and hit her head against the wall. He twisted her arms and slapped her so badly that she had to undergo medical treatment. Given that they were protected persons, Mr. Jeff Brown was not allowed to meet his children as per the condition of the intervention order (Prenzler and Fardell 2017).
The court, instead, ordered that the defendant should attend Domestic prevention program that would enable him to learn to manage his relationship with his wife and children. If there is progress in the program, he shall complete the course of the program, which would make things better for him and his relationship with his wife. In the meantime, he is not allowed to meet his wife or his children. In case the defendant wants the matter to be contested, a trial date would be given until then he is prohibited from meeting his wife and children (Brown and James 2014). The court asks whether defendant had understood whatever happened in the court proceedings as the same shall be typed and handed to him. He is asked to contact the police to organize a time when he could visit his house to collect his work tools only. The court adjourns then matter until 9 February.
In regards to the case, Tracey who has been subjected to domestic violence may require appropriate counseling and support from her family as well as from the society. The social workers can play a significant role under such circumstances. The social workers provide services to victims, such services are advocacy, and empowerment oriented services (Gray et al. 2014). Tracey being the victim of domestic violence may be provided with therapy. Some social workers even provide training and other necessary assistance to such victims such as maximizing her support networks, enhancing her communication skills, etc (Ellsberg et al. 2017).
The social workers encourage the victim to overcome their fear and weakness and give more emphasis on their strength, which in this case are Tracey’s children. As a mother, she would have to strive to overcome her fear and live for her children teaching them to overcome their fears and not to endure any wrongful acts. Tracey had no courage to leave her husband or report against his abusive behavior towards her due to which she had to suffer physical and psychological harm.
The social justice issues with respect to this case was Tracey was not aware of her rights and neither had she made complaints against her husband before the police. She was too scared of her husband for which she could not leave him. She endured all the abusive behavior that Jeff committed against her. As per the AASW Code of ethics, social justice should be upheld by societies and the societies should strive to safeguard and provide maximum benefit for all the members of the society (Salter 2014).
In this case, Mrs. Smith, the neighbor who was aware of Jeff’s nature did not given much attention before the night when she heard loud voices and screams. It was only then that she called the police to check on Tracey and her kids. If she had an idea of the rights and the intervention order, she could have assisted Tracey to exercise her rights. Now, that she is a victim of domestic violence, it is the responsibility of the society to cooperate with her, support her and respect her as a person and encourage her to lead a normal life. The social workers shall encourage her by working on the ethical dilemmas and make decisions that comply with the ethics outlined in the AASW Code (Brown and James 2014).
Conclusion
The issue arising in the case study is that of domestic violence. Tracey was a victim of domestic violence committed by her husband Jeff Brown. He slapped her and twisted her arms so hard that she required medical treatment and these conducts were exhibited in front of the children who also became subject to the risk of exposure to such abusive behavior. The South Australian Police issued an intervention order against Jeff that prevented him from contacting Tracey and her kids and was prohibited from going near 50 m to the house.
A man who commits domestic violence or exhibits abusive behavior against their female partners or a family member are referred to participate in Domestic Violence Programs where they learn to manage their relationship in a better way (Buchanan, Power and Verity 2014). Domestic violence in any form is not acceptable and any person who is being subjected to such abusive behavior has every right to raise their voice against it.
Reference list
Bond, C.E. and Jeffries, S., 2014. Similar punishment? Comparing sentencing outcomes in domestic and non-domestic violence cases. British journal of criminology, 54(5), pp.849-872.
Brown, J. and James, K., 2014. Therapeutic responses to domestic violence in Australia: A history of controversies. Australian and New Zealand journal of family therapy, 35(2), pp.169-184.
Buchanan, F., Power, C. and Verity, F., 2014. The effects of domestic violence on the formation of relationships between women and their babies:“I was too busy protecting my baby to attach”. Journal of family violence, 29(7), pp.713-724.
Ellsberg, M., Arango, D.J., Morton, M., Gennari, F., Kiplesund, S., Contreras, M. and Watts, C., 2015. Prevention of violence against women and girls: what does the evidence say?. The Lancet, 385(9977), pp.1555-1566.
Gray, R., Lewis, P., Mokany, T. and O’Neill, B., 2014. Peer Discussion and Client Motivation in Men’s Domestic Violence Programs: An Australian Qualitative Interview Study. Australian Social Work, 67(3), pp.390-404.
https://www.courts.sa.gov.au/MagistrateCourt/InterventionPrograms
https://www.courts.sa.gov.au/OurCourts/MagistratesCourt/InterventionPrograms/Pages/Abuse-Prevention-Program-and-Family-Violence-Courts.aspx
Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009
Prenzler, T. and Fardell, L., 2017. Situational prevention of domestic violence: a review of security-based programs. Aggression and violent behavior, 34, pp.51-58.
Salter, M., 2014. Multi-perpetrator domestic violence. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 15(2), pp.102-112.
Zannettino, L. and McLaren, H., 2014. Domestic violence and child protection: towards a collaborative approach across the two service sectors. Child & Family Social Work, 19(4), pp.421-431.
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