ABSTRACT

The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, in its landmark 2016 report, recommended that in five years – 2021 – the Victorian Government consider expanding police powers to include the ability to grant on-the-spot family violence intervention orders. Such orders would see a bypassing of judicial oversight where deemed appropriate, thus mirroring the Tasmanian model, where police can issue orders for up to 12 months, unless the respondent seeks to have the order varied or revoked in court. There is currently a division in the family violence sector as to the appropriateness of police-issued civil protection orders, with many family violence advocates raising significant concerns. This article considers current debates regarding police-issued civil protection orders and highlights the misidentification of women victim-survivors of family violence as predominant aggressors as a possible unintended consequence of such reform. With the Victorian Government due to respond to Recommendation 59 of the Royal Commission into Family Violence this year, this commentary provides a timely analysis of sector debates and reinforces the potential harms of increasing police powers in a space where they have historically responded poorly.

摘要

维多利亚州家庭暴力皇家委员会在其具有里程碑意义的 2016 年报告中建议，维多利亚州政府应在五年内（即 2021 年）考虑扩大警察权力，包括授予现场家庭暴力干预令的能力。此类命令将在认为适当的情况下绕过司法监督，从而反映塔斯马尼亚模式，警察可以发布长达 12 个月的命令，除非被告寻求在法庭上更改或撤销命令。目前，家庭暴力部门对警方发布的民事保护令的适当性存在分歧，许多家庭暴力倡导者提出了重大关切。本文考虑了当前关于警方发布的民事保护令的辩论，并强调将家庭暴力的女性受害者和幸存者误认为是主要的施暴者，这是这种改革可能带来的意外后果。由于维多利亚州政府今年将回应皇家委员会关于家庭暴力的第 59 号建议，本评论及时分析了部门辩论，并强调了在历史上他们反应不佳的领域增加警察权力的潜在危害。