Domestic Violence and Mental Illness
Picture source: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/05/domestic-violence-laws-abusers-justice
Women are no longer perceived as the vulnerable group in Australian society. In an attempt to boost economic growth and improve living standards, various policy initiatives have been introduced to support gender equality across Australia.[1] Such positive movement in our society has not completely overcome obstacles faced by women from the marginalised groups of Australian society. In particular, women faced with domestic violence, have become the controversial subject of societal concern. Unless the vulnerability of these women is understood in light of current legal framework and community standards, it is likely that this problem will continue.
According to a recent survey, there has been substantial levels of domestic and sexual violence against women. The study found that nearly one woman in every week was killed by a partner over the 2008-2010 period.[2] Furthermore, the study found that women are most likely to experience physical and sexual abuse by males in their home.[3] Regardless of the socio-economic status of these women, all these findings highlight a large increase in the number of women as victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Many incidents of domestic violence occur unreported. Although there are some various personal reasons for not reporting domestic violence to the public authorities, the most common reason is directly linked with the sense of fear and confusion experienced by women who are trapped in an abusive cycle of the Battered Women syndrome (BWS).[4]
The BWS is the pattern of symptoms describing the commonly perceived phenomenon among battered women. The syndrome attempts to understand the experience of women victims by defining their abuses in three stages of the abusive cycle.[5] The first stage is characterized by tension between the pair. This tension leads to the second stage of battering incident followed by the final phase of ‘loving contrition’ displayed by an offender which keep the relationship, making the victims believe that the suffering will end when in fact the cycle continues.
The physical and mental health impact on society is profound. Many women survivors develop a range of mental illnesses including stress, anxiety, depression, pain syndromes and phobias.[6] Victims and their families require prolonged support for their recovery. The traumatic experience becomes even more harder for refugee women living in Australia who are deprived of their family and community ties and face language difficulties.
The cost of rehabilitation imposes a huge economic burden on the society. The National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children noted that the failure of current response to domestic violence will cost the Australian economy $15.9 billion by 2022.[7] As the cost of rehabilitation currently contributes the largest proportion of the economic burden of domestic violence, the failure of system requires redress to barriers faced by battered women.[8]
Such findings reveal the lack of legal protection available to victims of domestic violence who are trapped in the BWS situation. Despite their personal safety at a risk of further harm and violence, these victims are not defined as victims under the law and thus cannot be readily protected unless their suffering becomes known to the police.
This issue raises a question as to the acceptable threshold for legal intervention. In determining the threshold, the following matters must be considered:
At what stage of the BWS, can the law step-in and protect women victims?
How can the law perceive and define these unreported women victims in its legal dictionary? That is, can these victims classified as actual victims or dealt separately?
In the case of legal intervention, how could the rights of victims’ privacy and their personal safety be protected under Australia’s legal and moral obligations?[9]
There is no single solution to wipe out all these ongoing problems in our society. The sense of fear and emotional harm suffered by the victims, can never be understood by an outsider who has never coped with the BWS. Does Australia’s current legal system adequately protect the rights of women adequately by its mandated domestic violence intervention? Is the rule of law ready to protect refugee women from foreign countries under its constitution? Where does Australia stand in terms of protecting vulnerable women?
References
[1] Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Empowering Women: Australia’s support for gender equality and the empowerment of women (2015).6-20.
[2] A Chan and J Payne, Homicide in Australia 2008-09 to 2009-10: National homicide monitoring program annual report, Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), Canberra,2013,p.9, 26 March 2016 < http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/mr/mr21/mr21.pdf>.
[3]Ibid,11.
[4]David Brown et al, Criminal Laws Materials and Commentary on Criminal Law and Process of NSW (The Federation Press,6th ed,2015).
[5]Ibid.
[6]World Health Organization, Understanding and addressing violence against women-Health consequences (2012),1-2.
[7]National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, The cost of violence against women and their children,(2009),4.
[8]Department of Social Services, The cost of domestic violence to the Australian economy: Part 1,(2004),25.
[9] Australian Law Reform Commission, Serious Invasions of Privacy in the Digital Era, Discussion Paper 80 (2014) 109.
