Publication:
The Law of Equality and Justice: Evaluating Domestic Violence Outcomes for Aboriginal Women in New South Wales

dc.contributor.advisor Cunneen, Chris en_US
dc.contributor.advisor Steel, Alex en_US
dc.contributor.author Russon, Belinda en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2022-03-21T14:30:00Z
dc.date.available 2022-03-21T14:30:00Z
dc.date.issued 2014 en_US
dc.description.abstract The ubiquitous nature of domestic violence in Australia prompted the development of civil legal protection orders to better protect victims of domestic violence from current or future violence. For victims of domestic violence in New South Wales (NSW), Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) are the most commonly utilised legal protection available. Despite the overwhelming research available on domestic and family violence, little is known about Aboriginal women’s perception of domestic violence and ADVOs, and the effectiveness of this legal instrument in protecting them. This study examines and evaluates the effectiveness of ADVOs for Aboriginal women living in NSW and analyses their perceptions of domestic violence. Consideration is given to how a lack of understanding of what constitutes domestic violence and a lack of knowledge and means to report a breach of an ADVO, can ultimately impede a victim’s access to the legal system, subsequent reporting of violence to the police and the effectiveness of the ADVO. Using semi-structured interviews, the perceptions of 33 Aboriginal women regarding domestic violence and their understanding of ADVOs were gathered. The participants all resided in NSW, were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent and had experienced domestic violence that had ultimately led them to obtain an ADVO. The interviews provide data on Aboriginal women’s experience of domestic violence and the legal system. These interviews point to a number of barriers that Aboriginal women face when attempting to report violence when there is a current ADVO. It is argued that an ADVO does not work effectively for Aboriginal victims of violence if the orders do not come with culturally appropriate mechanisms for better police responses, education as to how the order operates, advice on enforcing it and ongoing community support that is culturally specific. The results of this study affirm that Aboriginal women who are victims of domestic violence in NSW need to be better informed, supported and protected. A multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach to domestic violence in Aboriginal communities is imperative. Recommendations for how this may be achieved are discussed, which is a small step along the path of providing Indigenous women with both equality and justice. en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/53756
dc.language English
dc.language.iso EN en_US
dc.publisher UNSW, Sydney en_US
dc.rights CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 en_US
dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/ en_US
dc.subject.other Family violence en_US
dc.subject.other Aboriginal women en_US
dc.subject.other Domestic violence en_US
dc.subject.other Apprehended violence orders en_US
dc.subject.other Law en_US
dc.subject.other Protection orders en_US
dc.subject.other Indigenous women en_US
dc.title The Law of Equality and Justice: Evaluating Domestic Violence Outcomes for Aboriginal Women in New South Wales en_US
dc.type Thesis en_US
dcterms.accessRights open access
dcterms.rightsHolder Russon, Belinda
dspace.entity.type Publication en_US
unsw.accessRights.uri https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
unsw.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/16972
unsw.relation.faculty Law & Justice
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Russon, Belinda, Law, Faculty of Law, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Cunneen, Chris, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Steel, Alex, Law, Faculty of Law, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.school School of Law *
unsw.thesis.degreetype PhD Doctorate en_US
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