Domestic violence is a sequence of conducts which comprises of spoken, physical, sexual, economic, and psychological abuse by instilling fear in an attempt by the guilty party to gain and retain supremacy over the other. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation maintains that Domestic violence is immoral and criminal behavior. Domestic Violence harms the mental and physical health along with the future life prospects of victims. Any physical or mental traumatic behavior is to be blamed on the culprit and not the victim. Trigger influences, for instance, drug and alcohol misuse, anxiety, emotional disturbance or incitement by the victim does not rationalize the violent behavior. The investigation into the violence, and provision of culprit plans are supported, these should not be done at the expenditure of services or means of victims of domestic violence.
Family Law Act of 1975 in Australia describes domestic violence as violent, intimidating or other activities by an individual that intimidates, controls or frightens the member of individual’s family. The Act mentions deeds of violence that takes place amongst people who were or are in a familiar relationship in household backgrounds. Domestic violence likewise comprises violence amongst companions of both genders, as well as same-sex affairs. Nevertheless, the word can be transformed by each state’s law and can widen the range of domestic violence, for example in Victoria family violence is defined as seeing any sort of violence in the household in the relationship which lived like a family. Between 2010 and 2012, at an average every 10 days a man died because of family violence, with an aggregate of 75 between the duration. Whereas in 2015, women were nearly 65% of all fatalities in family domestic violence connected murder in Australia which amounted to 103 dead. In the middle of 2014 to 2016, 264,028 domestic violence cases were informed and documented. As per the research , it has been found that 80% of women and 95% of men didn’t seek any assistance even after being abused by their existing partner.. The anticipation of more violence, fear of retaliation from the existing partner, emotional attachment, disbelief, embarrassment or shame et cetera was cited as the most shared reason for not taking the help of a law enforcement agency. 560 men and 2,800 women during 2014-2015 were admitted in hospital because of the assault of a partner or spouse. It is also seen that one out three women and one out of five men experiences violence through existing or former inmate after the age of 15.
There are several laws, act, codes, etc. to report any issues of domestic or family violence. As per the studies, it has been found that every one woman out of three experiences certain kind of physical violence at least once in their lifetime throughout Australia. In order to control and address this issue, there are several domestic or family violence laws differing from state to state. In other words, there are separate set of laws and systems to address domestic violence in each territories and state forming a diverse legal rule throughout the country (Swannell, 2015). There are several forms of domestic violence that comes under criminal offences. The victims of these issues inducing child, family members witness etc. in extreme scenario can lead to death, long term mental problems, psychological issues or serious physical injury (AVERT Family Violence: Collaborative Responses in the Family Law System, n.d.). Thus, the legal system plays a vital role in the society or community in terms of preventing and addressing these issues. However, there is not a particular or single national legislation which targets domestic violence but there are in total 8 different territories and state legal schemes enabling victims of domestic violence to seek protection through courts and police. Additionally, even commonwealth laws form domestic violence provisions (Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012, 2017). The way these laws provisions and policy interact or operate have major impact on the well being and safety of the victims. There are 5 common areas of low that was developed in response to domestic violence:
New South Wales: The Domestic and Violence act, 2017 which apprehends domestic violence order. Under this act the former and current spouses, family relatives including indigenous kin members, residents of residential facilities, career abused victims, housemates and children of victims.
Australian Capital Territory: The domestic violence agencies act of 1986 along with domestic violence and protection act of 2008, protects family members, present or former wife’s, parents and even the children of the abused person.
Northern Territory: The Domestic and Family Violence act, 2007 which covers de facto, current and former spouses, relatives which includes indigenous or aboriginal, carer abused victims, housemates, those or guardians having access rights, partners, elderly people and children of the abused person,
Queensland: The Domestic and Family violence protection act protects former or present wife’s (includes biological parents of a child and de factors) family, children, relatives of victims, those in interpersonal relationships and informal carer.
Southern Australia: Domestic Violence act (1994) procedure act (1921) and prevention of abuse bill (2009). In this there is no restriction on relationship which means any child or suspected victim who may faced the effects of abuse, former and current spouse, defendant or the children of the victim, de facto.
Tasmania: the family violence act, 2004 protects spouses, de facto and significant relationships under relationship under Relationships Act, 2008.
Victoria: Magistrates Court Act (2004) and Family Violence Protection Act (2008). This act protects former or present wife’s, domestic partners, relatives and de factos which includes kids and carer of the abused person.
Western Australia: The Restraining Orders Act of 1997 which comes under domestic violence and restraining order. This act like the previous acts protects former or present wife’s, intimate partners, family members and the children who have experienced violence. The family members of the victims can also apply for protection under this act.
It is mandatory in all states and territory to report child abuse case, when any professional comes in contact with the victim. This process is known as mandatory notification or in other words mandatory reporting. This applies to all the professionals working in legal, health, educational and childcare services (Roberts, n.d.). Apart from the above state and territory law, there is an obligation which comes under Family Law Act for the registrars, court counsellors, court staff, family consultants, family dispute resolution practitioners, independent and children’s lawyers to inform the authorities responsible for children protection when they feel that a child is being abused or is at a risk of getting abused. There is also mandatory to report if an abduct person is harmed or abused in Northern Territory of Australia. I t is treated as an offence, if any individual witnessing any harm or violence to another person or if a person is at risk forbids or do not report to police in Northern Territory (Violence against women and domestic violence laws, n.d.). This is also common in Tasmanian law, where it is mandatory to report family violence in ration to adults.
This is also a law existing in various states across Australia which allows the victims to claim for compensation for all the harms suffered as a consequence of abuse. The law of state and territory permits the victims of domestic violence to ask for compensation for the injuries or loss arising from any type of offence. These schemes are referred as criminal Injuries compensation (Fact file: Domestic violence in Australia, 2016). These are various benefits of these schemes such as some allows the victims to obtain a lump sum amount while the other schemes bear all the cost and expenses of the victim that they incur during these injuries which may include medical service cost, dental cost and the specialist counselling services.
It is often considered that there is a unique relationship between a patient and their nurse which often develops into an unbreakable bond between them. This gives the patient confidence and support in sharing their experiences which may not come under medical requirement. Similarly, the nurses who are concerned about their patient safety, often goes beyond their core job and duties (Easteal, Young, & Carline, 2018). This understanding between the patient and the nurses has expanded the nursing role which in particular is significant in identifying and intervening into situation where there is a chance or probability of domestic violence.
The reaction of nurses to women in these situations can have an intense significance on their readiness to search for help or to share their suffering. When the victim feels she is being listened to by the nurse, this experience can empower the victim. The nurse should further try to instill belief in the conversation for the victim by empathizing her replies to the victim’s experience for example acknowledging the scary nature of the victim’s suffering, that the victim must have had to muster a lot of courage to talk about her experience and the listener being a nurse is pleased that she helped her patient to lighten herself up by speaking about her experience, that the victim does not merit to be treated the way she has been treated (Madigan, 2018). The nurse should not blame the victim in any way for her suffering with the replies which the victim could perceive as it was victim’s fault to continue to stay with the abuser, or the victim could have reacted in a very different manner to avoid the confrontation and the result thereafter or try to take her back to the incident which brought the victim to health care service. The nurse could further assess and help in the safety of the victim (Domestic violence Laws in Australia, 2009). The nurse should try to get to know whether the victim feels safe enough to return home after the appointment, whether the victim’s children are safe or not, whether the victim requires instant place of security, whether the victim should contemplate a different exit from the building of nurse, in case the instant security of the victim is not an issue the nurse should try to figure out along with the victim whether in near future the victim would be at risk, whether the victim has any plan of action when she would be subjected to future risk, the nurse should try and help the victim make an emergency course of action such as the place victim should seek shelter in case of emergency, what belongings she should carry with her, and the people she could contact for support, whether the victim has an emergency contact number (Family Violence Act 2016 , 2018). The nurse should document these action plan together with the victim for future reference.
Previously, the nurses used to be cautious in approaching the patient of domestic violence due to various reasons like as it does not come under their duty to inquire a patient about the violence or it may offend victim. The lack of proper education and specific training were also some of the reasons behind it (Power, n.d.). But as per studies it has been identified that midwives’ nurses or health professionals as a major source of their support. It has been found that the victims of domestic violence especially women do not get offended when they are inquired about their past if it is being asked by a trained and a caring midwives or nurse (What causes domestic abuse and how can nurses effectively support abused women?, 2010). Hence the role of a nurse and a midwife is significant as they understand the reality of domestic violence and the impact it can have over the health of the victims. There are several steps that a nurse or healthcare professionals must consider while addressing victim of domestic violence. The inquiry about the sensitive information should be conducted in a private or safe environment so that their children and partner are not there.
Conclusion:
From the above paper it can be concluded that domestic violence is not only limited to women but even the children, family members, intimate partners or relatives of the victims. These violence’s includes different behavior’s such as physical, verbal, sexual, psychological, financial or even emotional abuses. These eventually have drastic impact over the health of the victim and their family members which can be described as a violent and unlawful act where one person tries to control or retain power over another person. There are various laws and acts which varies across the states and territories of Australia which addresses domestic violence (Child protection Australia 2015–16, 2017). The role of nurses and midwives is very significant in addressing the victims of domestic violence. They should be aware about all the laws and act in relation to domestic violence so that they can care and at the same time refer the victim to appropriate path ways (Alshammari & McGarry, 2018). The medical professionals should collaborate with other bodies or agencies responsible for safety of the women and the children so that the victims are safe. Nurses should also figure out and report to police if in case they suspect or feel the life of the victim is at stake.
References
Alshammari, K. F., & McGarry, J. (2018). Nurse education and understanding related to domestic violence and abuse against women: An integrative review of the literature. Wiley Nursing Open, 237-253. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.133.
AVERT Family Violence: Collaborative Responses in the Family Law System. (n.d.). Retrieved from An Australian Government Initiatives: https://www.avertfamilyviolence.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2013/06/Legal_Frameworks.pdf
Child protection Australia 2015–16. (2017, March 16). Retrieved from AIHW: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/child-protection/child-protection-australia-2015-16/contents/summary
Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012. (2017). Retrieved from Queensland: https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/2017-05-30/act-2012-005
Domestic violence Laws in Australia. (2009, June). Retrieved from The National Council to Reduce Violence: https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2012/domestic_violence_laws_in_australia_-_june_2009.pdf
Easteal, P., Young, L., & Carline, A. (2018). Domestic Violence, Property and Family Law in Australia. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 32(2), 204–229.
Fact file: Domestic violence in Australia. (2016, April 15). Retrieved from ABC Fact Check: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-06/fact-file-domestic-violence-statistics/7147938
Family Violence Act 2016 . (2018, April 25). Retrieved from Australian Capital Territory : https://www.avertfamilyviolence.com.au/wp-content/…/sites/…/Legal_Frameworks.pdf
Madigan, N. (2018, October 1). Nurses’ growing role in helping support victims of domestic violence. Retrieved from Health Times: https://healthtimes.com.au/hub/nurse-education/41/practice/nm/nurses-growing-role-in-helping-support-victims-of-domestic-violence/3107/
Power, C. (n.d.). Domestic Violence: What Can Nurses Do? Retrieved from CPI: https://www.crisisprevention.com/Blog/September-2011/Domestic-Violence-What-Can-Nurses-Do
Roberts, G. (n.d.). Response of Health Professionals to Domestic Violence in Emergency Departments. Retrieved from Australian Government: https://aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/proceedings/downloads/27-roberts.pdf
Swannell, C. (2015). Family violence. The Medical Journal Of Australia, 203(5), doi: 10.5694/mja15.0907C1 .
Violence against women and domestic violence laws. (n.d.). Retrieved from White Ribbon Austarlia: https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/understand-domestic-violence/facts-violence-women/laws/
What causes domestic abuse and how can nurses effectively support abused women? (2010, February 26). Retrieved from Nursing Times: https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/womens-health/what-causes-domestic-abuse-and-how-can-nurses-effectively-support-abused-women/5012025.article
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